President Donald Trump’s version of manifest destiny is becoming manifestly repetitive.
On Sunday he again expressed his desire to take over Greenland, mixing benevolence and financial incentive in his pitch.
“As I made clear during my Joint Address to Congress, the United States strongly supports the people of Greenland’s right to determine their own future,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We will continue to KEEP YOU SAFE, as we have since World War II. We are ready to INVEST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create new jobs and MAKE YOU RICH — And, if you so choose, we welcome you to be a part of the Greatest Nation anywhere in the World, the United States of America!”
Trump couldn’t help but add a touch of menace to the offer last week during his speech, saying he would take control of the giant island “one way or the other.”
Greenland is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. Its response to Trump’s overtures (and threats) has been as icy as much of its terrain.
The leadup to Trump’s second term and its first several weeks have featured repeated expansion threats also targeting Canada and the Panama Canal. His saber-rattling and musings to make Canada the 51st state, not to mention his on-and-off tariffs, have caused alarm amid a change in leadership.
