Impose NATO stationing costs, reclaim the Panama Canal, and rename the Gulf of Mexico.
On Tuesday, January 7, local time in the U.S., Trump held a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. This press conference was initially advertised as an economic development announcement, revealing a plan by Dubai developer Damac Properties to invest $20 billion in building data centers in the U.S. However, Trump subsequently discussed several new geopolitical issues regarding the U.S. In what can be called a 'groundbreaking' press conference, Trump proposed four new directions: increasing NATO member countries' military spending ratios, making Canada the 51st state of the U.S., not relinquishing military control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the 'Gulf of America.'
Trump has previously often made many political promises, but now he really has become the 'great leader' capable of controlling both chambers of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House. Who knows if he will have the determination to implement these changes and disrupt North America's geopolitics?
Using economic means to 'merge Canada'
On the day of the press conference, Trump posted a tweet on Truth Social, suggesting that many Canadians would be willing to become a new state of the United States to reduce the financial deficit and tariffs, as well as threats from Russia and China. When asked about the seriousness of this issue, Trump clearly stated that he was 'not joking', implying that if Canada remains a sovereign nation, the financial costs of its trade relationship with the U.S. could be devastating.
Trump also vowed to use 'economic means' when asked if he would attempt to annex Canada, stating that the shared border between the two countries is a 'man-made line.' However, in fact, this border is the longest international boundary in the world, established by treaties dating back to the late 18th century with the founding of the United States.
Trump stated that the U.S. spends billions of dollars each year to protect Canada and criticized the imports of Canadian cars, lumber, and dairy products, saying, 'They should become a state,' he told reporters.
According to BBC reports, outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau stated that the merger of the two countries 'has no chance at all.'
According to previous news, Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, stating that he did not receive enough support within the Liberal Party to lead it into this year's election. Potential competitors for Trudeau's successor, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, posted on social media that Canada would 'never back down in the face of threats.' Pierre Poilievre, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, has stated that Canada will 'never' become a state of the United States.
There is no guarantee that force will not be used to control the Panama Canal and Greenland.
In this press conference, Trump repeatedly mentioned the costs incurred by the U.S. in building the canal and accused China of currently operating the canal. Following this, several news media released fact-checks clarifying that the operation of the canal has nothing to do with China. When asked if he might order the military to force Panama to give up the canal or take similar actions against Greenland, he stated, 'No, I cannot guarantee you those two things.'
If force is truly used, it would violate treaties and other agreements made during the Carter administration, which he has criticized multiple times.
According to the New York Times, Trump's exact words were: 'We need them to ensure economic security — the Panama Canal was built for our military purposes,' he said. When asked again if he would rule out the use of military force, he replied, 'I can’t commit to that. We may need to do something.'
The Panamanian president refuted Trump's claims after the meeting, stating that 'there is absolutely no Chinese interference in the canal.'
Regarding Greenland, Trump believes there are multiple Russian and Chinese vessels operating around Greenland, making Greenland closely related to U.S. national security and safe navigation. At the press conference, he stated that if Denmark does not hand Greenland over to the U.S., he would 'impose very high tariffs on Denmark' and questioned Denmark's legal sovereignty over Greenland.
Meanwhile, Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. is visiting Greenland. Before arriving in the capital Nuuk, Trump Jr. stated that he would be taking a 'personal day trip' to talk with locals and had no plans to meet with government officials.
The Danish Prime Minister immediately stated after the press conference, 'Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland.'
Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group said that Trump's rationale is similar to Putin's justifications for invading Ukraine. The information he publicly released states, 'American imperialism is back.' It's hard to imagine this phrase coming from a European.
Trump told reporters, 'I am talking about protecting the free world.'
Increase NATO member countries' military spending ratio for the U.S. military presence.
According to the New York Times, Trump claimed that NATO member countries are slow in fulfilling their commitments to spend 2% of their GDP on defense funding, and should now be prepared to spend 5%.
'They can all afford it, but they should spend 5%, not 2%,' Trump said, then threatened again that if any NATO ally in his view does not pay enough for the system, he would not protect them.
Trump's criticisms of NATO continue a longstanding bipartisan narrative: George W. Bush, Obama, and Biden have all raised this issue, and under Biden's term, the progress towards the 2% target has been the greatest, with even some European leaders privately agreeing that if Europe wants to build sufficient military strength to deter Russia in the coming decades, the target should be raised to 3%. They often add that there is no political basis for achieving this level.
According to NATO's latest assessment, of the 32 member countries, 23 are expected to meet the target of 2% (defense spending as a percentage of GDP) by 2024, while only 3 did in 2014. But now, Trump has clearly stated that this level should be raised to 5%, otherwise he would threaten to withdraw troops.
Rename the Gulf of Mexico to the 'Gulf of America'
Trump stated that the U.S. will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the 'Gulf of America' and linked this potential renaming to his long-standing dissatisfaction with Mexico's handling of immigration, drug trafficking, and trade, and made relevant comments.
'We will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,' Trump said at the press conference. '...What a beautiful name, and it is very fitting.'
This body of water has many names, but European explorers and cartographers have used the name 'Gulf of Mexico' for at least 400 years.
While the U.S. federal government has existing mechanisms to rename recognized geographical names, even if the federal name is officially changed, it does not mean that other countries will recognize this change.
Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia immediately stated that she plans to introduce legislation in Congress to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico.
'I have instructed my staff to immediately start drafting legislation to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,' Greene wrote on social media. 'This is very important for starting to fund the changes to maps for all federal agencies, such as the FAA and the military.'