[guest post by Dana]

At his press conference this morning, President-elect Trump promised ”a Golden age of America”. Apparently, he intends that the following be a part of that promise:

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security.

“I’m not going to commit to that,” Trump said, when asked if he would rule out the use of the military. “It might be that you’ll have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital to our country.” He added, “We need Greenland for national security purposes.” Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally and a founding member of NATO.

Funny thing for him to say, considering he said this upon winning the election:

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s plans for the world are blunt and clear — up to a point:

No new live or proxy conflicts for an isolationist leader who wants to put America first.

“I’m going to stop wars,” he said in his victory speech.

And then there is this:

Trump: "We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America."

(He's serious.) pic.twitter.com/qHB7A7aqzm

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 7, 2025

And finally, once again confirming his status as Putin’s stooge, Trump made a disgusting accusation, blaming the United States and not Russia for RUSSIA’S UNPROVOKED INVASION OF UKRAINE:

… U.S. President-elect Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden for provoking Russia’s full-scale invasion by supporting Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations.

Trump argued that Ukraine’s potential NATO membership has long been a major concern for Moscow. “That’s been like written in stone. And Biden said, ‘No, they should be able to join NATO.’ Then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep. I could understand their [Russia’s] feelings about that.”

A report by The Wall Street Journal has previously suggested that Trump’s team was exploring a plan to delay Ukraine’s NATO membership by at least 20 years in exchange for Western arms supplies and European peacekeepers to monitor a potential ceasefire with Russia.

This is a disgraceful and infuriating thing for an incoming US president to say. Why, it’s nearly traitorous. Why does he blame the nation that he is going to lead for the reprehensible decision that a vile, murderous leader made to unlawfully invade a sovereign nation? Surely Putin has something on Trump, or, our next Commander in Chief is absolutely clueless about the reality of Putin and Russia. Yet when one considers his admiration for strong men (and he sees himself as one), then of course he’s going to blame some other entity for provoking the war. For the United States to delay Ukraine’s membership in NATO for 20 years would be an awful move. Surely it would tarnish our standing in the world and hurt our relationships with ally nations. Rightfully so. As it has been said a multitude of times before: appeasing a thug like Putin, does not work. Period

At this point, who knows how much stock to put in to anything that Trump says. He is a compulsive, liar, so whether this is just more blather or if maybe something to take seriously, we’ll have to wait and see. What is important to remember, however, is that Trump will have a Senate and House majority when he takes office in two weeks.

P.S.

: “I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA,'” said President-elect Trump in a Truth Social post featuring video of an unidentified man wearing a “Make America great again” hat saying he wants the U.S. to “buy us, buy Greenland.”

“My son, Don Jr, and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,” Trump added.

“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”