TOI Correspondent from Washington: Disdainful of Nato and European security during his first term, US President-elect Donald Trump has virtually torpedoed the alliance even before he takes office for a second term by seeking to occupy or appropriate territory of two of its members, Canada and Denmark.
Jaws dropped in geo-political circles across the world as Trump pressed forward with his call for Canada to become the 51st US state by posting a map amalgamating both countries in American colors. He also declined to rule out military or economic action to seize control of Greenland, going so far as to question whether Denmark has any legal right to Greenland, saying, “but if they do, they should give it up, because we need it for national security.”
Any thoughts that Trump was trolling Denmark and Canada — whose outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau he had mocked as “Governor” of Canada — were quickly laid to rest at a press conference where he expanded on the theme of a Greater America, which including the US retaking the Panama Canal and renaming the Gulf of Mexico as Gulf of America.
Trump also said “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the hostages being held by Hamas are not released by Inauguration Day, repeating the threat four times during a wild news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
“It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say any more, but that’s what it is,” he warned without elaborating.
But it was his push against the nearly 76-year old Nato that shook the western world as the incoming US President doubled down on his criticism of the alliance and its expansionism that he suggested has provoked Russia to go to war against Ukraine.
“Russia for many years said you could never have Nato involved with Ukraine. That’s been like written in stone. And Biden said no, they should be able to join Nato. Russia has somebody right on their doorstep. I could understand their feelings about that,” he said in an implicit defense of Moscow.
Canada too was shaken by Trump’s cartographic grab as he suggested taking over the country without a military invasion.
“You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security. We basically protect Canada.” Trump said about the US’ largest trading partner with which it shares the longest — and arguably the most peaceful — border in the world at close to 9000 kms.
Canadian politicians and public intellectuals closed ranks against the projected territorial grab, with outgoing Prime Minister Trudeau saying there was “there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.”
Conservative Party leader, Pierre Poilievre, widely expected to replace Trudeau, also clapped back at Trump, saying, “Canada will never be the 51st state. Period. We are a great and independent country.”
Mexico though responded with snark at Trump’s proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico as Gulf America. At a press conference, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum rolled out a map of the country’s former size which states such as Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and California, which were once part of Mexico.
“Mexican America, that sounds nice,” she said.
