In his recent statements, US President-elect Donald Trump has made some strange statements about the acquisition of Greenland, the annexation of Canada, and the return of US control of the Panama Canal that have confused the Western community.
Moreover, at a recent press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump refused to rule out the use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal. “I’m not going to commit to that. I’m not. We may have to do something.”
“People don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security,” Trump added.
Recalling the US transfer of the canal to local authorities in 1999 and demanding that Panama restore US ownership of the canal, Trump spoke quite sharply: “The Panama Canal is vital to our country. It is being exploited by China. China! And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, not to China,” Trump said.
If we add to this Trump’s current friend Elon Musk’s recent threats to “free Britain from its tyrannical government” or Musk’s tweets to the former Canadian prime minister, in which the businessman called Justin Trudeau “no longer the governor of Canada,” the world is very confused about expectations from the new government in the United States.
What was it?
Today it is difficult to give a clear assessment of what this was in Trump’s case. Perhaps it is a distraction of public attention from other, more important things and steps Trump is doing that do not require publicity. This is an old and proven way of diverting attention from important economic or geopolitical actions.
Perhaps this is a way to signal to Russia and China that the new US president is unpredictable and one does not know what to expect from him. The old Ukrainian proverb “Beat your own to make others afraid” and its English equivalent “Beat the dog before the lion” may illustrate this policy. The calculation here may be to intimidate geopolitical rivals with the unpredictability of the new owner of the White House. Trump, on the other hand, wrote a book about the art of negotiating and creating a background for their success.
However, the real motives behind such statements may not be rational political and technological factors. Perhaps it is a continuation of showmanship ambitions and behavioral patterns at a time when this is still allowed for a private person at a difficult age, before being elected to a position where such things will no longer be allowed. Perhaps an older man of 78, rejoicing in the highest status of power, decided to tickle the nerves and express some kind of provocation to observe the reaction of others. Trump as a person may also have his own weaknesses, and now we see these manifestations.
Or perhaps it is really the intentions of the future president, who was told by one of his advisers that these actions would be important for the United States from a strategic point of view in confronting an enemy where the stakes are higher than diplomatic ceremonies.
Some believe that Trump’s or Musk’s statements are not worth paying attention to, but others call for preparedness if some of this does come to fruition. In such a situation, the governments of Denmark or Canada could well start thinking about a plan B, in case of unforeseen situations.
Some even say that Trump’s ideas for Greenland or Panama would be beneficial to local residents and well-funded for local governments. They say: how can we leave the Panama Canal, a strategic sea route of global importance, in the hands of China? And wouldn’t it be better to pay a poor country well to take over this important facility from a Western democracy? After all, the Panama Canal was built by US companies.
And some people start talking about “Danish colonialism,” ignoring the fact that Denmark is one of the best countries in the world in terms of human development and human rights. And even ordinary Americans are envious of the social conditions, salaries, vacation time, and access to healthcare in Denmark and the Scandinavian countries.
Obviously, against the backdrop of real threats to Western democracies from aggressive dictatorships, the last thing we need now is for democracies to quarrel with each other.
Author: Valeriy Maydanyuk