“We’re going to expand our territory,” Trump says. Uh, where to?
Three extraordinary words were inserted into Trump’s inaugural address – profound enough in the middle of a long sentence that they risked going unnoticed.
Trump talked about expanding US territory, which didn’t happen in generations. He inserted the words “expand our territory” into a series of things he wants to do.
This is obviously remarkable given all of Trump’s recent thinking: making Canada a state, annexing Greenland, and reclaiming the Panama Canal.
But it was vague. He had just talked about resuming the Panama Canal, then planting the American flag on Mars.
It was sandwiched in a to-do list: “The United States will once again see itself as a growing nation – a nation that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag towards new and magnificent horizons. . And we will pursue our manifest destiny in the stars – launching American astronauts to plant the Star-Spangled Banner on the planet Mars. Ambition is the lifeblood of a great nation, and today our nation is more ambitious than any other.
To be clear, Trump made no reference in his speech to Canada or Greenland. For what it’s worth, the idea of annexing either of these places is deeply unpopular among Americans, according to a survey published a few days ago by the Wall Street Journal.
