American Battleground: Trump dreams of empire while struggling to keep some promises
CNN
Vice President JD Vance chooses the perfect introductory words for his brief visit to Greenland, if he were a tourist just in for some laughs and an Instagram moment. But as the highest-ranking official of the United States to ever set foot on the world’s largest island, Vance is there to talk about a much longer stay — to drive home President Donald Trump’s desire to control the snowy land.
“Shit, it’s cold here!” Vice President JD Vance chooses the perfect introductory words for his brief visit to Greenland, if he were a tourist just in for some laughs and an Instagram moment. But as the highest-ranking official of the United States to ever set foot on the world’s largest island, Vance is there to talk about a much longer stay — to drive home President Donald Trump’s desire to control the snowy land. “This has to happen,” Vance says. “And the reason it has to happen, I hate to say it, is because our friends in Denmark have not done their job in keeping this area safe.” For months, the Danes have effectively said the only threat is from the United States. They’ve pointed out that Greenland, an autonomous land under the Danish umbrella, has happily hosted American military forces for decades. They note that Vance’s stop is at a US base established in 1943 and still operating. They argue the White House can easily keep an eye on Chinese and Russian movements in northern waters from the island and can even expand America’s military footprint there without owning the earth beneath it. Anyway, Denmark says, Greenland is not for sale. Locals give an icier answer to Trump, Vance and their representatives: “We don’t want you here.” “We need Greenland,” Trump says as if he’s not heard a word. “For international security. We have to have Greenland.” Since returning to power, Trump has revived talk of a concept born in the mid-1800s. Manifest Destiny is the idea that the United States is an exceptional nation created by God to rule all of North America — at the least. The concept was used to justify slavery, take land from Indigenous people and expand the country ever farther westward — starting several armed conflicts along the way. President Andrew Jackson, who ordered the brutal removal of many Native Americans from their ancestral homes, was a big fan, and Trump is a fan of his, hanging a portrait of Jackson in the Oval Office.
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