President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday outlined an ambitious plan for U.S. expansion by seizing control of Greenland, the Panama Canal and maybe even Canada.
He refused to rule out military action to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal but said he would rely solely on economic force to make Canada part of the United States.
He questioned Denmark’s legal claim to Greenland, criticized China’s role in operating the Panama Canal and the late President Jimmy Carter for transferring the canal to Panama in 1979, and said Canada gets far more than it gives in its dealings with the U.S.
“I’m talking about protecting the free world,” he said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
His remarks set a muscular foreign policy tone less than two weeks before his Jan. 20 inauguration.
“You don’t even need binoculars. You look outside. You have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen,” Mr. Trump said.
As Mr. Trump spoke, his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived in Greenland for a private visit. He had no planned meetings with officials.
Since his first term, Mr. Trump has set