President Trump doubled down on plans to expand America’s territorial footprint, telling Congress on Tuesday that he intends to take over the Panama Canal and Greenland and will plant the U.S. flag on Mars and beyond.
In the first address to House and Senate lawmakers of his second term, Mr. Trump laid out an “America First” agenda that goes beyond U.S. borders to reclaim critical ports serving the Panama Canal controlled by a company tied to China.
“We didn’t give it to China; we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Mr. Trump said.
He vowed that the Arctic territory Greenland would become part of the United States “one way or another.” He told Congress his administration is “working with everybody involved to try to get it.”
The president pledged that the U.S. will “lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars, and even far beyond.”
Mr. Trump pitched his expansionist plans as part of the “unstoppable power of the American spirit” and the dawn of a Golden Age.
“America is back,” the president said to a raucous standing ovation from the Republican side of the chamber.
The president has proposed making Canada the 51st state and trolls Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by calling him “governor.”
Mr. Trump didn’t mention a Canada takeover in the speech, and critics viewed his proclamations on Panama and Greenland as threats.
“Are we a criminal predator nation?” retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey posted on X.
Americans liked Mr. Trump’s message.
A CBS/YouGov poll of a heavily Republican sample showed that 76% of viewers approved of the speech.
Mr. Trump has shown interest in reclaiming the Panama Canal for decades but did not propose a U.S. takeover until December, weeks before starting his second presidential term. Mr. Trump cited the need to end China’s control over the canal. Two months later, he told lawmakers that his plan was advancing.
Mr. Trump announced that the U.S. would reclaim the canal and said, “We’ve already started doing it.”
Earlier Tuesday, a group of investors led by BlackRock Inc. announced that they would acquire two critical ports at either end of the canal from a Hong Kong-based company. The $23 billion deal includes purchasing more than 40 ports in 23 countries and removing them from Chinese control.
China’s increasing influence over the canal has raised national security concerns. Roughly 70% of the cargo that passes through the canal comes from or is headed to U.S. ports.
“The increased presence and influence of the People’s Republic of China in Panama, particularly in and around the Canal, is troubling and must be addressed,” Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Louis E. Sola said last month.
The United States built the canal and completed it in 1914. In 1977, President Carter signed a deal to hand over the canal to Panama, a move Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized. Over the past decades, China has expanded its presence and influence in Panama. The second Trump administration has begun halting this.
After Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama last month, Panama announced it would not renew its membership in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, an infrastructure program to expand China’s global influence.
On Wednesday, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino denied that the U.S. would be taking over the canal and said the deal to sell the ports to BlackRock, which puts the canal ports under American control, had nothing to do with Mr. Trump.
“I reject in the name of Panama and all Panamanians this new affront to the truth and our dignity as a nation,” Mr. Mulino posted on social media.
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede also scoffed at Mr. Trump’s ambitions.
“We don’t want to be Americans,” Mr. Egede said.
The autonomous Danish territory is considered a rich source of rare earth minerals, oil and gas. Mr. Trump said he is interested in Greenland’s natural resources and strategic importance for U.S. national security. The U.S. operates Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, under an agreement with Denmark. The base conducts defense operations and research.
Mr. Trump dedicated part of his address to enticing the 57,000 residents of Greenland to support a U.S. takeover and join in the American renaissance outlined in his speech.
“We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before,” Mr. Trump said.
Doug Bandow, a scholar with the libertarian Cato Institute, said Mr. Trump’s expansionist plans clashed with his campaign agenda, which was centered on the economy, illegal immigration and shrinking the size of government.
“Tempting as it might be to use Washington’s undoubted hard power to acquire more territory, making America great again would be better achieved by shrinking rather than expanding the nation’s borders,” Mr. Bandow said.
