'We don't want to be Americans': Greenland, Panama reject Trump's dreams of U.S. expansionism

President Trump doubled down on plans to expand America’s territorial footprint, telling Congress on Tuesday 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 the borders of the United States to reclaim critical ports serving the Panama Canal that had been previously 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 the arctic territory Greenland would become part of the United States “one way or another,” telling Congress his administration is “working with everybody involved to try to get it.”

The president also pledged 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 of America.

“America is back,” the president said to a raucous standing ovation from the GOP side of the chamber.

The president has also proposed making Canada the 51st state, continuing to troll Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with the idea by calling him “governor.”

Mr. Trump didn’t mention a Canada takeover in the speech. His proclamations on Panama and Greenland drew swift backlash from critics who viewed them as a threat.

“Are we a criminal predator nation?” Retired General Barry McCaffrey posted on X.

But Americans liked Mr. Trump’s message.

Post-speech polling showed 76% approved of the speech among watchers in a CBS/YouGov poll of a sample that skewed heavily Republican.

Mr. Trump has shown interest in the United States reclaiming the Panama Canal for decades but did not propose a 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, his plan is advancing, he told lawmakers Tuesday.

Mr. Trump announced during the joint address to Congress that the U.S. will reclaim the canal and said “we’ve already started doing it.”

Earlier Tuesday, a group of investors led by BlackRock Inc. announced they will acquire two critical ports located at either end of the canal from a Hong Kong-based company. The $23 billion deal includes the purchase of more than 40 ports in 23 countries, 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, completing 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 several decades, China has expanded its presence and influence in Panama. The second Trump administration has begun putting a halt to it.

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 aimed at expanding China’s global influence.

On Wednesday, Panama President José Raúl Mulino denied that the U.S. will 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’s Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede also scoffed at Mr. Trump’s ambitions.

“We don’t want to be Americans,” Mr. Egede said.

The autonomous Danish territory is believed to be a rich source of rare earth minerals, oil and gas. Mr. Trump said he’s interested in Greenland for both its 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 Congress to enticing the 57,000 residents of Greenland to support a U.S. takeover and join in the great 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 clash with the agenda he ran on, 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.