Donald J. Trump, the president of the United States of America, is a fool.
A fool who is, in my opinion, running the U.S. into the ground for a multitude of reasons. And although there are endless reasons why Trump should be kicked out of office, I’d like to draw attention to the ongoing issue of Trump expressing his desire to annex Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Trump’s desire for control does not stop with Greenland. He has also repeatedly mentioned turning Canada into the 51st state. The president has not stopped expressing his desire to dominate Canada, but has taken it a step further by sharing an image online of Canada shrouded by an American flag.
This form of entitlement is both eyebrow-raising and alarming. Trump’s desire for his administration’s domination over territories and sovereign states is cause for concern, especially with his declaration to obtain Greenland “one way or another.”
Trump resembles something along the lines of a toxic ex you can never seem to get rid of. Always changing his mind, whether with regard to tariffs or by picking different groups of citizens to terrorize and oppress throughout the U.S.
Despite Greenland’s citizens and prime minister continually asserting, “We don’t want to be Americans, we are not for sale,” Trump continues to believe he is entitled to people’s autonomy, as though prosecuting the citizens of his own country isn’t enough.
The idea of “Manifest Destiny” has been continually stated by Trump as the U.S.’s right to rule over the Americas and is seen in his desire to not only control Greenland and Canada but to project American influence globally. For instance, his statement “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition” following the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, suggests that Trump thinks he alone knows what is best for Venezuelans more than they know for themselves. But who can claim to love and understand a sovereign nation more than its own people?
Now, what does his desire for domination mean for Canada and Greenland? In simple terms, this puts Canada in a vulnerable position. The acquisition of Greenland will leave Canada’s Arctic exposed — the Arctic, which has been historically under-explored, is now being geographically contested due to Trump’s proclamations and threats. Despite this, nations such as Canada and China are seeing eye to eye on their support for Greenland’s territorial integrity.
Trump’s desire to take Greenland is centred on both his greed for its untapped resources and its positionality as a potential centre for military bases. This bid for Greenland is not out of character for Trump — he not only extracts resources and livelihoods from his own citizens but expects other nations to let him do the same to them.
Greenland is not for sale, Trump. Focus on helping your own citizens and economy and concern yourself less with other sovereign states.
