Donald Trump's bold statements on acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal drew sharp criticism from Pulitzer-winning columnist Tom Friedman. He warns the rhetoric threatens global stability and risks encouraging territorial moves by China and Russia.
Trump's Greenland and Panama Plans Could Have Real-World Consequences
According to Tom Friedman, a columnist for the New York Times, the frequent assertions made by President-elect Donald Trump that the United States will acquire Greenland and take control of the Panama Canal during his administration will have real-world repercussions.
Friedman cautioned in an opinion article that was published on Monday that his foreign bluster should not be viewed as a joke. He also mentioned that China and Russia are paying attention to what he has to say.
The journalist went on to say that Trump's statements are beyond comprehension in terms of their reckless ignorance, as Friedman noted. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist informed readers that the damage done by Trump's ambitions to buy Greenland and the Panama Canal is more than most people think.
Global Stability at Risk From Trump's Bold Claims
Friedman said that if the future president continued to threaten to seize certain regions, it may put the country in a precarious position and cause damage to the international order that was built after World War II.
Furthermore, he suggested that Trump's comments on the acquisition of Greenland and the Panama Canal, which some may view as the unfiltered antics of an attention-seeking leader, are far from humorous, The Raw Story shares.
China and Russia Pay Close Attention to U.S. Rhetoric
Friedman is most concerned about the people who he feels are paying attention to the situation, including President Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia.
"If the U.S. president can decide that he wants to seize Greenland and explicitly refuses to rule out the use of force to do so, that is like a giant permission slip for China to seize Taiwan, which has strong emotional, historical, linguistic and national connections to mainland China," Friedman wrote.
U.S. Credibility in Question Amid Trump's Remarks
In a similar vein, the author raised the question of how the United States could possibly inform Putin that he is in violation of international law by capturing the territory of another nation. This is because Trump publicly fantasizes about acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal, while at the same time refusing to rule out the possibility of employing military action.
Adding to what Putin's press secretary said during an interview on Thursday on CNBC, Russia is "watching the rhetoric on these topics coming out of Washington with great interest," as Friedman closed his column by saying, "no wonder."
