Tempers flared on CNN Tuesday after President-elect Donald Trump reaffirmed his willingness to claim Greenland, sparking a fierce dispute over economic security, military tactics, and America's global posture. Panelists pressed Trump's supporters to explain why the nation should abandon traditional norms against 21st-century expansion.
Trump's Greenland Proposal Sparks Debate on Economic and Military Tactics
Donald Trump, the next president-elect, has proposed that the United States acquire Greenland via economic or military means. This proposal sparked a contentious discussion on CNN on Tuesday night.
The huge island is necessary for American "economic security," according to Trump. Trump said, "I can't assure you - you're talking about Panama and Greenland - no, I can't assure you on either of those two," when asked Tuesday if he would contemplate using economic or military pressure to get the acquisition through.
His increasingly angry comments sparked a heated debate on CNN's NewsNight, with Washington Post global perspectives columnist Josh Rogin prompting a swift response from GOP strategist Scott Jennings, who stated: America is not an expansionist military power. Certainly not in our modern era.
21st-Century Expansionism Questioned
"Why?" Jennings abruptly interrupted the conversation. "Why not?"
Because we don't live in that kind of world, Rogin flatly stated.
Just as anchor Abby Philip turned to Jennings to get an answer to her question, Rogin, clearly taken aback, jumped in to explain whether Jennings supports attacking Greenland and whether he's even open to the idea.
The United States need not strike the island, according to Jennings, who refuted the accusation.
Rare Resources and Strategic Interests Highlighted
He then remarked, "We can buy it." Rogin vehemently denied that the island was for sale and so could not be purchased.
As both guys continued to ignore Philip, Jennings responded by saying that everything is not available for purchase until it is.
Philip at long last made a point to Jennings that the new order of the world is that superpowers do not have the right to "take" smaller countries through the use of military force.
Trump's Vision of American Strength
Phillip, according to Jennings, "thinks small," whereas Trump does not. Noting the island's scarce mineral resources and the fact that the US already has a facility there, it is said that Trump is thinking large and considering US interests.
Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Global Politics
Per The Raw Story, Philip expressed her frustration later on in the conversation when Jennings continued to argue that Trump's unpredictable nature is the reason the world takes him seriously.
"I have to call this out because at the end of the day, this is the 21st century. Ok? The United States is not running around the world and saying, 'I must have that! We'll take it!' This is not the colonial era. Are we really in a world in which you are comfortable saying the United States is now going to be one of those countries that just takes whatever they feel like taking on the map?"
Global Norms and Comparisons to Russia and China
Rogin expressed his support for the concept, adding that this is something that Russia and China both practice. Insisting that our standards should be higher than that.
