Some Democrats open to Trump's expansionist talk
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President-elect Trump is encountering some unlikely openness from Democrats — and hesitance and confusion from Republicans — with his talk of acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Why it matters: Any such effort, should it prove to be more than bluster, would require bipartisan support on Capitol Hill to become a reality.
- Trump has sketched out a vision of American empire that also includes renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," and, to a lesser extent, making Canada the 51st state.
- On Tuesday, he declined to rule out using military force to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal. The leaders of Panama and Denmark (Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark) have said they're not interested in selling any territory.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) pushed back on those ideas Wednesday, casting them as a distraction from the rising costs Americans are facing.
What they're saying: Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) also cast Trump's rhetoric as a distraction from domestic issues but nevertheless expressed receptiveness towards some of the ideas he has floated — if they became feasible.
- "If you're saying to me that Denmark wants to sell us Greenland and we can buy Greenland … why would we object to that?" Moskowitz said.
- Moskowitz also argued China has too much influence in the Panama Canal and "the United States reasserting its history in the Panama Canal is actually a good, important, strategic issue," though he dismissed the idea of using military force.
- Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) similarly said Wednesday in a Fox News interview that while he would oppose taking Greenland by force, purchasing it is a "responsible conversation," comparing it to the Louisiana Purchase.
Zoom in: While Trump's GOP allies are gleefully embracing the president-elect's ideas — with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) planning a bill to make his "Gulf of America" proposal official – others are pushing back.
- "Denmark and Greenland are our allies and we should treat them that way," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who represents a district Trump lost in the 2024 election.
- Bacon said the U.S. should "work with Greenland on mining rare earth minerals" and work "with Panama diplomatically" on China's influence in the canal, but bristled at the notion of using military force.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told CNN they wanted to hear more from Trump about what he's planning on this front in his meeting with Senate Republicans on Wednesday.
Between the lines: Some Republicans who spoke to Axios pushed back on the notion that Trump should be taken at face value when flirting with military action against U.S. allies.
- Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) said that is "something the press really wants to stir up," but he "did not take that away from the president's comments at all."
- Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) said presidents "should never rule anything out," casting Trump's comments as a hardline negotiation tactic.
