Leaders Push Back After Trump Raises Greenland, Panama Canal Stakes

Trump didn’t rule out military force or economic coercion to get his way, as he pitched a U.S. takeover of Greenland and the Panama Canal on Jan. 8.

A plane carrying Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 7, 2025. Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix via Reuters

Leaders are pushing back after President-elect Donald Trump declined to rule out the use of economic or military coercion to assert control over Greenland and the Panama Canal.

“No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this: We need them for economic security,” he told reporters on Jan. 7.