Hours after suggesting he would seize the Panama Canal, Trump says he wants Greenland, too
JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images
- Trump said the US should take control of Greenland, reigniting an old position of his.
- This came shortly after he also suggested the US could take over the Panama Canal.
- In 2019, Trump said the US should buy Greenland, an idea swiftly rejected by the island and Denmark.
President-elect Donald Trump has resurfaced an old position of his, that the US should take over Greenland, just hours after also threatening to take over the Panama Canal.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that "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."
He made the comments in a post announcing PayPal cofounder Ken Howery as his choice for US Ambassador to Denmark.
Greenland, the world's largest island, is an autonomous dependent territory of Denmark, which is a US ally and NATO member.
Bob Strong/Reuters
Trump's pronouncement came just hours after he threatened to take control of the Panama Canal, the manmade waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that "the fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US."
He added: "This complete 'rip-off' of our Country will immediately stop."
In a separate post, Trump wrote: "If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question."
"To the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!" he added.
The US transferred control of the canal to the Panama Canal Authority in 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 under President Jimmy Carter.
Panama charges fees for each vessel going through the canal, making it an important economic driver for the country.
Greenland, too, has strategic value. In addition to its own natural resources, it has proximity to the Arctic, where countries like Russia are vying to gain resources and control.
Trump expressed an interest in the US buying Greenland in 2019, during his first term in office. Greenland's government quickly rejected the idea, saying that it wasn't for sale.