‘Ridiculous’: Donald Trump act even MAGA hates
Diehard Trump supporters are cheering loudly for him but there’s one issue he keeps bringing up that they’re just not that into.
In Washington DC, as hundreds of thousands of supporters flooded the city last month for Donald Trump’s inauguration, there was little the new president could do wrong.
Jubilant MAGA hatted Republicans spoke glowingly of Mr Trump’s plans to restrict immigration; they were expectant food prices would shortly come down and were excited for the US to “drill, baby, drill”.
But among the cheers, some furrowed brows could be spotted. Chiefly because of an apparent policy Mr Trump had repeatedly referred to of late. A policy he never mentioned on the campaign trail.
It’s the Donald Trump plan that even diehard MAGAs aren’t on board with.
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“That would be ridiculous,” Jeff, who works in pest control from Baltimore, told news.com.au.
“I think it’s just talk”.
Lisa Bird, a teacher from Malvern, in Arkansas’ south west, was equally as sceptical.
“He can’t do those things and anyone who understands the constitution, and the power of the three government bodies (the executive, the legislature and the courts) understands he can’t.”
What’s sent some full throttled Trump fans into disagreeing with the president?
His threat to purchase, or even annex, Greenland, the Panama Canal. And maybe Canada too.
Mr Trump brought up the possibility of the US acquiring the large Arctic island of Greenland, a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark, as early as 2019. Soon after his presidential win, the notion suddenly made a comeback.
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Mr Trump has said it’s an “absolute necessity” for the US to take Greenland due to “international security”.
Indeed, there are concerns melting ice around the North Pole could open up more sea routes, and lead to tensions with Russia and China.
But Mr Trump also has his eye on Greenland’s rich mineral resources, including rare earth elements.
‘Horrendous’
Greenland and Denmark, which initially shrugged off the comments as just another Trump thought bubble, are now in crisis mode particularly due to his remark that military force couldn’t be ruled out.
Part of the shock for both is that they have been nothing but welcoming to Washington.
The US has hundreds of troops on Greenland as well as several military bases, including a ballistic missile warning radar.
Then came what has been called a “horrendous” January phone call between Mr Trump and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen where the US President’s interest was seen as “serious, and potentially very dangerous”.
But Ms Bird was far more relaxed about the brewing brouhaha.
“It’s not real,” she said of the President’s threats to his NATO ally.
“Trump supporters know it’s all hogwash.”
But she struggled to covey what his motive was.
‘He can’t do it’
“I have no idea of what the connection he really has with Greenland – what is really there that he is looking at – but I don’t think for one second he really wants to annex Greenland or Canada, or any of that stuff.
“For one, he can’t. The president has limitations on his executive ability, and do you ever notice when he does that the other side just goes crazy and then he gets stuff done.”
If Mr Trump is indeed serious, it’s likely plan A would be to try and persuade Congress to agree for the US to open negotiations with Denmark. In 1965, US President Harry Truman offered Copenhagen $100 million in gold for Greenland. Copenhagen said no.
This time around, Denmark and Greenland have once again said the island is “not for sale”.
Worryingly, Mr Trump’s plan B could more violent.
Only Congress can sign off on a declaration of war. And without Greenland, Panama or Canada being actively hostile, it’s difficult to see how there would be any legal basis for such a move.
But under the 1973 War Powers Act, the US president can put troops into a conflict for up to 60 days without congressional approval. If approval isn’t forthcoming m the troops have to leave.
Given the US already has troops on Greenland, 60 days might be all that’s needed.
Former US ambassador to Poland and member of US think tank the Atlantic Council Daniel Fried said he could see “no case” where the US would “start wars against allies and friends”.
“For one thing, Trump would own the consequences, which would include hostile populations under occupation, a ruined NATO alliance, and US isolation from its friends, to the delight of its adversaries Russia and China.
“Trump won election promising to end wars, not start new ones.”
Yet, it’s hard to fully rule the notion out. And nothing would preclude Mr Trump making threat after threat and taking harsh economic measures to get his way.
‘This is not a joke’: Rubio defends Trump
In an interview last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down the threat of the US using military force against Denmark, a NATO ally, but said of Mr Trump’s remarks on Greenland: “This is not a joke”.
“President Trump’s put out there what he intends to do, which is to purchase it,” Mr Rubio told SiriusXM Radio.
“This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land. This is in our national interest and it needs to be solved.”
Mr Rubio said that while he was not on the phone call with Ms Frederiksen, Mr Trump “just speaks bluntly and frankly with people”.
“And ultimately I think diplomacy in many cases works better when you’re straightforward as opposed to using platitudes and language that translates to nothing.
He then raised the prospect that China might have designs on the Arctic land.
‘That’s a fetch’
“Purchasing Greenland? I don’t know,” Kevin McCarthy from Atlanta told news.com.au.
“I think he’s just positioning and getting his leverage with respect to a strategic alliance with Greenland.
“Look at the big picture: he’s protecting the borders and the safety and security of the US and making sure those things are iron clad agreements.”
As for Canada joining the US, he was equally as dismissive.
“Nah, that’s a fetch. However it is a negotiating position. There are other things that he probably wants, like concessions on like the trade imbalance.”
Even ‘Canadians for Trump’ say no
Outside the Capitol Building lingered a man sporting a “Canadians for Trump” sweater.
“I think that this country and Canada are going to be healing now Trump has taken office, we can already see better times ahead,” Matt from Toronto told news.com.au.
“Better times ahead”, for Matt, would be the elevation to PM of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre after a decade of Justin Trudeau at the helm.
What does a “Canadian for Trump” make of Mr Trump’s remarks about Canada as “the 51st state”?
“I think that if Trudeau had been elected again I wouldn’t be against it,” said Matt, entertaining the prospect of ending 160 years of Canadian independence because of his dislike of one PM.
“But a 51 state? No that’s not going to happen”.
Mr Trudeau has said colourfully “there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell” of Canada joining the USA.
Ottawa is staring down the prospect of 25 per cent tariffs and Mr Trump has dangled the possibility of economic coercion against its northern neighbour.
But he has not threatened military action against Canada, unlike Greenland.
“I do believe Greenland – we’ll get, because it really has to do with freedom of the world,” Mr Trump said aboard Air Force One last Saturday.
Denmark resisting would be an “unfriendly act,” he added.
“It has nothing to do with the United States other than that we’re the one that can provide the freedom. They can’t.”
The Greenlanders don’t see a US takeover as “freedom”. It already has a strong independence movement and would almost certainly reject throwing off one colonial master for another.
A recent poll for Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq found 85 per cent of islanders do not want to become American and don’t want their own freedom trampled on.
“We don’t want to be Danes. We don’t want to be Americans. We want to be Greenlanders,” Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede said.
Danish PM Frederiksen spent last week on a whirlwind tour of European leaders to formulate a consensus on how to deal with Mr Trump’s threats.
Denmark has committed an extra $3.2 billion to Greenland’s defence. That likely wouldn’t stop a US attack, but it does signal that Denmark isn’t shirking its responsibilities to the it defence and it won’t just roll over to Mr Trump.
No one news.com.au spoke too in Washington was keen on Mr Trump’s expansion plans, and none thought he would do it.
Jeff, from Baltimore, thinks talk of the US taking Greensand and Canada is “ridiculous,” although there is one proviso.
“If they were on board for it,” he mused, “that could create a whole new massive nation.”
It could. The largest nation in the world, in fact.
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