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As a rule, when it comes to Donald Trump’s policy visions and governing plans, it’s unwise to look for consistency and core principles. The Republican tends to vacillate based on all sorts of things, including random television segments he happened to catch.
That said, the president-elect tends to have a reputation as a relative isolationist, skeptical of international alliances, partnerships and commitments, and generally reluctant to use U.S. power to shape developments abroad.
That reputation continues to be tested in new and unexpected ways.
In the seven weeks since Election Day, for example, Trump and his team have reportedly taken an interest in deploying U.S. forces into Mexico and joked about annexing Canada. More recently, the president-elect appears to have taken a keen interest in the Panama Canal — it’s unclear why — publishing online items and making public comments about Panamanian control of the canal.
In fact, over the weekend, the Republican complained about Panama’s shipping fees and said that without a change in policy, his administration “will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States.” The New York Times’ report on this added, “He did not say how that would happen, given that the canal was returned to Panamanian control through a treaty signed by both countries.”
And then, of course, there’s Greenland.
In an item published to his social media platform, the president-elect announced his intention to nominate Ken Howery, the former U.S. ambassador to Sweden, to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Denmark. The statement probably wouldn’t have generated many headlines, were it not for one related point Trump added in the online announcement:
For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.
Yes, we’re apparently back to the whole “let’s buy Greenland” thing again.
If this sounds at all familiar, it’s because this is the sequel to an odd story from Trump’s first term.
The Wall Street Journal first reported in August 2019, and NBC News soon after confirmed, that the then-Republican president held multiple discussions about the prospects of the United States buying Greenland. Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff who became a fierce Trump critic, later told MSNBC that in 2018, the then-president even explored the possibility of swapping Greenland for Puerto Rico.
None of this sat well with Danish officials — Greenland is an autonomous Danish territory — who explained to the White House that Greenland is not actually for sale and the idea was “absurd.” Around the same time, officials in Greenland made clear they weren’t altogether pleased, either.
True to form, Trump responded to the reactions with a predictable tantrum. As the New York Times reported several years ago, “Mr. Trump, angered at the Danish response to his idea, abruptly canceled a diplomatic visit to Denmark.” The then-U.S. leader soon after described Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, as “nasty,” sparking a minor international incident.
Within months of President Joe Biden taking office nearly four years ago, Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Greenland after attending a meeting of the Arctic Council in Iceland. The American diplomat said the trip reflected the Biden administration’s intention to enhance its relationship with “our Arctic partners,” including Greenland.
Blinken added that, as far as the Biden administration was concerned, the United States was not interested in trying to purchase Greenland.
About a month from now, that will apparently change.
It’s not altogether clear why, exactly, Trump sees owning Greenland as “an absolute necessity.” It might have something to do with oil, or perhaps the president-elect has some other undisclosed motivation.
Regardless, the morning after the Republican’s online statement reached the public, Trump confronted news he probably didn’t want to see. “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” the island’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a written comment.
If recent history is any guide, Trump will probably ignore the statement. Watch this space.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.