Unstable, Unhinged and Unchecked
Trump presents his imperialist vision of US foreign policy: military threats and economic coercion of our allies
Donald J. Trump is a lunatic. But we knew that. What we did not know until this Tuesday was how far he is from the bipartisan consensus that has guided U.S. foreign policy for generations.
In what can only be described as a bizarre and frightening press conference earlier this week, Trump unveiled a fanciful agenda that would replace policies based on strong alliances, promotion of democracy (however inconsistent) and free trade, with a doctrine that, as The Wall Street Journal noted, relies on “economic coercion and unilateral military might, even against allies.”
“We just haven’t seen anything like this, at least in my lifetime, from a president of the United States,” Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator and defense secretary told the Journal. “This is very, very autocratic, and that is why it is so concerning what Trump is saying and how he’s acting.”
Trump reeled off a staggering stream of absurd positions, including:
Using military force to recolonize the Panama Canal
Using military force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark
Annex Canada through crippling economic warfare
Rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America
Demanding the NATO allies spend 5 percent of their GDP on their military (even though the US does not spend that much).
All justified by Trump because “we need them for our economic security.”
Donald Trump Jr. poses for a photo in Greenland on January 7 in this photo posted to his X account.
These kinds of imperialist and colonialist policies — common in the eighteen and nineteenth centuries as empires competed to grab other peoples’ land and enlarge their “spheres of influence” — have been rejected in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The foundation of the international system constructed with US leadership after fascist conquests were rolled back in World War II has been respect for national borders.
Until now. Trump is copying Putin. Trump says we should “get rid of that artificially drawn line” separating the US and Canada. Making Canada the 51st state, he said, “would really be something.” That is exactly what Putin says about Ukraine. And the Baltic States. And other nations in what Putin asserts is Russia’s natural sphere of influence. China thinks similarly about territories on its border.
Now, under not-even-president-yet Donald Trump, the United States takes the same view. National borders are arbitrary. The claimed national security interests of great powers supersede the independence and national sovereignty or others. What’s yours is mine — as long as I have the power to take it.
All of this raises grave doubts from the very allies that the United States depends upon to ensure its actual national security interests. The countries targeted by Trump have all firmly rejected his demands, as have NATO allies such as Germany and France. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said "the principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country... no matter whether it's a very small one or a very powerful one." French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said "there is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders." Greenland MP Kuno Fencker said the island's "sovereignty and self-determination are non-negotiable".
“When our strongest allies and partners lose confidence in us, no good is going to come from all of that,” Hagel said. “China and Russia are looking at all this, like, ‘Go ahead, Mr. Trump, keep talking.’”
Russia and China cannot compete with the US alliances forged over decades, so they seek to dissolve them. Trump is now helping do exactly that.
Russian commentators are thrilled by Trump’s approach. CNBC reported on how Russian TV presenter and Kremlin ally Vladimir Solovyov said Trump’s position essentially gave Moscow the right to demand the restoration of its own former Soviet empire, including the Baltic nations of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
Solovyov said that “what Trump is doing benefits us greatly.” Why? Because it was “totally destroying any illusions that anyone might have still had about the summit of democracies, about respecting opinions of NATO allies. It’s like he’s saying, ‘Who are all of you? You’re all nobodies. I will talk to Putin and Xi Jinping. As for you, who are you? Deliver Greenland.’ He is a great guy, an awesome guy.”
None of what Trump imagines in his Make America Imperialist Again agenda is likely to happen, of course. We are not going to invade Panama or Greenland. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there “wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell” that economic pressure would force Canadians to submit to US rule.
Nevertheless, Trump persists. To justify his grandiose vision of a North American Empire, Trump simply makes up facts. He claims that “China’s basically taken it over…China’s running the Panama Canal,” for example, and that Panama is charging US ships more than others. He demands Panama give US ships preferential rates.
Whether it is serious new policy or the same old schtick, the rest of us should not acquiesce to this new imperialism.
None of this is true. Although China has long had financial interests in the operations of two ports at either end of the canal, Panama controls the waterway. The head of the Panama Canal Authority, Ricaurte Vasquez Morales, said “China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations.” He denied that Panama charges US ships higher rates. The Panama Canal treaty ensures that all nations are charged the same for passage. In fact, the only exception — written into the treaty — is that US Navy vessels are given priority passage. Given US ships preferential rates “will lead to chaos,” says Vasquez Morales.
Is it all just a show? Another distraction? It is true that this week’s press conference was like most of Trump’s public performances. Historian Heather Cox Richardson describes them as composed of “attention-grabbing threats alongside lies and very little apparent understanding of actual issues.” They are intended to keep everyone off balance and dominate media discussion. Some of Trump’s more insane supporters and political performers play along. Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene introduce a bill to “rename” the Gulf of Mexico, for example. Fox News performers demanded that we invade Canada.
The American oligarchs who back Trump continue to support these bizarre performances because they don’t take his positions seriously and calculate that they will help Trump deliver on their core concerns: tax cuts and deregulation.
They seem perfectly willing to risk the collapse of American alliances, international stability and democratic norms as the acceptable price for their continuing aggregation of global wealth.
Whether it is serious new policy or the same old schtick, the rest of us should not acquiesce to this new imperialism.
BONUS: I discussed this and other issues with Zerlina Maxwell on her morning Sirius/XM show on Thursday. If you are able to listen to Zerlina, you should. Her show is always fascinating.
BONUS: Martin di Caro hosted me on his podcast, History as It Happens, this week to discuss the nuclear threats I raised in my recent article and posts.
He thinks he's McKinley. Not an example I'd want to tie myself to.
Think of the juxtaposition: honoring one of the most selfless Presidents in history while waiting to inaugurate ( or better, coronate) a grifter who sells fake watches and sneakers. I would offer the theory that all of his pronouncements, including his cabinet choices are all misdirection. He’s a master of managing his message and has perfected the art of the ‘shiny new thing’ to attract attention and distract notice, all at the same time. Everything is transactional to this guy…gaining leverage is tantamount, whether he’s dealing with allies or adversaries. There is no win-win in his world. Not only does he have to win, you have to lose.
The ‘tell’ is the use of economic advantage. Money and power are the only things that count in his world view. We’ll survive his term and pick up the pieces. We can only hope that he’ll be recognized for what he is sooner rather than later. The GOP will start to recognize that they’ve sold their souls to the devil and they won’t have him around in 4 years. There is no heir apparent.
Tom