It’s been an eventful 2 months for President Donald Trump, and he’s already made many of his prospective policies very clear to the country. In addition to many executive orders he’s made to change certain economic policy and reverse decisions made by former President Joe Biden, Trump has also made several promises that have caused alarm in the international stage. Namely, his proclaimed wanting of expanding America’s borders.
On February 9th, Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Beier that he was interested in the idea of the complete annexation of Canada, this comes after Trump declared heavy tariffs on Canada, even despite their close allyship with the United States. “We lose $200 billion a year with Canada, and I'm not going to let that happen,” said Trump in a pre-game Super Bowl interview. “It's too much. Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially in subsidy to Canada? Now, if they are a 51st state, I don't mind doing it.” This statement caused massive alarm in Canada and the rest of the world, as this could’ve been interpreted as Trump wanting to pull the US into a war with Canada. The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau has taken these statements as serious threats, warning attendees of a summit for business and labor leaders, “Not only does the Trump Administration know how many critical minerals we have, but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state.” Trump has said that he has no plans on using military force to annex Canada, but he has made implications about using economic pressure instead.
Trump has also made claims on Greenland, making reference to wanting to buy the territory from Denmark. This is a sentiment he’s even held all the way back in 2019 during his first term, an offer declined by Denmark then. But now, he’s been a lot more adamant about wanting to control the territory, and although he’s still trying to just buy the territory or put on economic pressure, he has stated that he hasn’t ruled out using military force to seize the territory. Since Greenland is a territory of Denmark, military force could potentially lead to all-out war with Denmark, and potentially the rest of the European Union. He has also made comments about wanting to acquire the Panama Canal and bring it back into American control, a territorial claim that Panama has denied. The Trump Administration also attempted to pass an order that allows US ships to pass through the canal for completely free, which Panama also denied.
Although all of these other territorial wishes have not been acted upon, for better or worse, there has been a smaller, but still consequential territorial action that has changed the maps in the Trump Administration’s favor. On February 12th, officially making the change passed by executive order on Trump’s first day of office, the Gulf of Mexico was officially renamed to the Gulf of America. For all official usage in the United States, including government and news documentation, the new name is expected to be used. AP News has already had their press pass to the White House revoked due to not using the new name and instead continuing to call the body of water the Gulf of Mexico.
If this pattern is followed, the continuing 4 years of Trump’s term may lead to more expansive territorial claims that could potentially harm our relationship with the international community even further, especially if the Trump Administration does follow through with any of their annexation desires, potentially pulling the United States into a diplomatic crisis that could have lingering effects long after Trump is out of office.
