See updates through January 8, 2025, at end of post.
Ticking off a few white Christian nationalist checkboxes, Donald Trump vowed to “rename Denali, Alaska natives' name for North America's tallest mountain, after William McKinley,” who was “a champion of the gold standard” and who “led the country to victory in the Spanish-American War and raised protective tariffs to promote U.S. industry.” The mountain had been named McKinley for decades previously.[1]
First and foremost, Trump spent much of his first term as president undoing Barack Obama’s policies. It was Obama who accepted the state of Alaska’s request that the mountain be renamed. And it was Obama, a Black man, as president, who couldn’t help but inflame the racism that insists that people of color must be subordinate to white people. But also, of course, accepting an indigenous Alaskan name for the tallest mountain in North America is “woke” and therefore also intolerable.
The Spanish-American war was the product of similar intolerance but also expanded (neoconservatives will like this) U.S. influence in the western hemisphere. U.S. antipathy toward Cuba is not simply a consequence of so-called ‘communism’ (really authoritarian socialism) but also of a lingering manifest destiny ideology that desires U.S. territorial expansion.
People (capitalist libertarians) who think that money should be an investment in and of itself even more than it should be a medium of exchange (nonsensical in too many ways to elaborate on here) insist upon the gold standard, which Richard Nixon abandoned as the Bretton Woods system proved unworkable. The Federal Reserve’s priority shifted at this time from keeping unemployment low to keeping inflation low,[2] and is arguably an important root of neoliberalism (neoconservatives’ moral imperative), in which workers—especially labor unions—are the ‘enemy’[3] and seen as oppressors of the poor beleaguered rich.
And, finally, of course, Trump has long believed that ‘tariff’ is “the most beautiful word in the dictionary,”[4] a position that will also antagonize neoliberals who disregard that ‘comparative advantage’ often means a ‘race to the bottom’ in wages, working conditions, taxes, and environmental and safety regulations.
You might have noticed a few contradictions here. The gold standard was no fix for inflation.[5] Manifest destiny flies in the face of isolationism, which Trump is famous for. Tariffs are likely to raise prices.[6] But in an anti-intellectual white Christian nationalist world, logical coherence is least important of all.
Update, December 24, 2024: While Donald Trump has an isolationist reputation, his public messaging is bizarrely the opposite, threatening to invade Mexico,[7] calling Canada the 51st state, threatening to retake the Panama Canal, and demanding to purchase Greenland. There’s some speculation that this is Trump’s way of negotiation,[8] “ask[ing] something unreasonable” to improve the likelihood of “get[ting] something less unreasonable.”[9] Indeed, Denmark has suddenly moved to bolster Greenland’s defenses, which might have been Trump’s intent,[10] if we are willing to credit Trump with any intelligence (I’m not). I do not recall seeing imperialism as a bluff—it is far more often deadly serious.
It really remains to be seen how seriously we really should be taking all this. Qasim Rashid argues that Trump is moving the Overton Window to a muscular right, normalizing rhetoric that threatens our closest neighbors and allies and undermines the ‘global order,’[11] as if the latter could be said to exist in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine and Israel’s genocide in Gaza. But there is indeed more than a whiff of toxic masculinity to all this, with the Trump as the schoolyard bully, making threats to get his way and projecting Amerikkkan machismo.
Update, December 30, 2024: From a Canadian perspective, there may be more to the “51st state” apparent nonsense than first appears. First, there is the apparently bizarre idea of making Greenland part of Alaska[12]—Canada lies in between. But second, it seems U.S. broligarchs are intent on making Canada much more like the U.S., with, to put it mildly, a significantly constrained human rights regime, repealed gun control, abolished vaccine mandates, and a privatized healthcare system. Particularly worrisome is that these ideas enjoy support from some Canadian conservatives, including a candidate to succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister.[13] I now feel I have no choice but to take Donald Trump’s toxically masculine imperialism very seriously.
Update, December 31, 2024: Donald Trump is promising to designate Mexican drug cartels as “terrorist organizations” and threatening military strikes to take out their leadership.[14]
Update, January 6, 2025: Donald Trump has returned to the idea of annexing Canada[15] and Greenland,[16] suggesting this is no passing fancy. It’s unlikely he can accomplish any of this[17] but his hubris recalls my characterization of him during his first term as a delusional raging narcissist. My question is how far he is willing to go in pursuit of these delusions.
Update, January 7, 2025: It’s been said that one shouldn’t ask a question if one does not wish to know the answer. My question yesterday (see above) was how far Donald Trump was willing to go in pursuit of his delusional quest to annex Canada and Greenland.
Today, Trump “refused to rule out invading Greenland or Panama when asked if the U.S. could use military force to acquire the Arctic island or the canal in the Central American country.”[18]
Update, January 8, 2025: I’m thinking more about Donald Trump’s seemingly sudden turn from apparent isolationism to, as Eugene Daniels recalls, Manifest Destiny. He writes that “it’s also a break from the MAGA [white Christian nationalism] of old. Trump 1.0 was furious with the neoconservative approach of nation-building and foreign interventionism with the military, which it saw as a failure to put America and Americans first. Trump 2.0 has ambitions for an American empire and claims it is willing to intervene with the military to get it; it seeks to expand the nation not through immigration but through land grabs.”[19]
So what’s the deal here? First, obviously, as Daniels also noted, it’s a distraction from other issues, I would say, notably, the betrayal of white Christian nationalism on the H-1B issue.[20] But second, most of what I’ve seen on Trump’s attraction to Greenland mention the territory’s resources:
“The Greenland subsoil contains a variety of valuable minerals, rare earth metals, precious metals, precious stones, coal, graphite and uranium. Greenland has been a mining nation since the late 1700’s, where coal was excavated in Qaarsut on the Nuussauq Peninsula.
“In addition to coal, a mining has included gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, graphite, olivine, cryolite and marble.”[21]
And what are ‘rare earth metals?’ “[Rare earth elements] are considered ‘critical minerals’ in domestic metallurgical applications that serve aerospace, defense, energy, telecommunications, electronics, and transportation technologies (Fortier and others, 2018) many sectors of the economy benefit from REE technology. REE are used as catalysts in chemical reactions (especially for the production of petroleum), in the production of glass and ceramics, and in fiber optics. Clean energy technologies frequently require various REE, such as neodymium for electric car engines and wind turbine generators. Dysprosium, gadolinium, praseodymium, samarium, and neodymium are used to produce strong magnets for computers and cell phones. Cerium, neodymium, samarium, and praseodymium are also important for rechargeable batteries. The medical industry requires erbium, gadolinium, thulium, ytterbium, and yttrium for x-ray and MRI equipment, laser surgery, and cancer treatment. Cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium are important alloys.
“Although the U.S. maintains a supply of REE in the National Defense Stockpile, the nation is presently 100 percent reliant on imports, mainly from China, Estonia, Japan, and Malaysia. The Mountain Pass mine in California is currently the only domestic producer of REE concentrates, yet all of this material is shipped to China for processing, refining, and manufacturing of batteries, magnets and other high-tech products. Geologic resources have been identified in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Texas, and Wyoming (USGS, 2020).”[22]
In short, the incoming aconstitutional broligarchy wants these resources to make the toys that they sell to us. And we already know about the broligarchy’s plans for Canada.[23] As Daniels writes, “Trump 1.0 was furious with the neoconservative approach of nation-building and foreign interventionism with the military, which it saw as a failure to put America and Americans first. Trump 2.0 has ambitions for an American empire and claims it is willing to intervene with the military to get it; it seeks to expand the nation not through immigration but through land grabs.”[24]
Many have worried about Trump’s authoritarian proclivities. Some even fear that there might never be another election. What we do know is that Trump cannot, under the U.S. Constitution, seek re-election, which means that the white Christian nationalist faithful, his base, are only of value in the midterm elections—if they are even held. He’s throwing them under the bus.
[1] Kanishka Singh, “Trump vows to rename Denali as Mount McKinley,” Reuters, December 22, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-vows-rename-denali-north-americas-tallest-mountain-mt-mckinley-2024-12-22/
[2] Sandra Kollen Ghizoni, “Nixon Ends Convertibility of U.S. Dollars to Gold and Announces Wage/Price Controls,” Federal Reserve History, November 22, 2013, https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/gold-convertibility-ends
[3] David Benfell, “Conservative Views on Undocumented Migration” (doctoral dissertation, Saybrook, 2016). ProQuest (1765416126).
[4] Donald Trump, quoted in Guardian, “‘The most beautiful word in the dictionary’: Donald Trump’s tariff plan – podcast,” December 15, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2024/dec/16/the-most-beautiful-word-in-the-dictionary-donald-trumps-tariff-plan-podcast
[5] Sandra Kollen Ghizoni, “Nixon Ends Convertibility of U.S. Dollars to Gold and Announces Wage/Price Controls,” Federal Reserve History, November 22, 2013, https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/gold-convertibility-ends
[6] Guardian, “‘The most beautiful word in the dictionary’: Donald Trump’s tariff plan – podcast,” December 15, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2024/dec/16/the-most-beautiful-word-in-the-dictionary-donald-trumps-tariff-plan-podcast
[7] Hafiz Rashid, “Trump Team Is Having a Terrifying Debate on How to Invade Mexico,” New Republic, November 27, 2024, https://apple.news/AW86WkTV4QiKoASBybl8w5A
[8] Will Weissert, “Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal,” Associated Press, December 23, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-greenland-norway-panama-canal-canada-a52858e3075f9b5ad95e78753293fc1f
[9] Stephen Farnsworth, quoted in Will Weissert, “Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal,” Associated Press, December 23, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-greenland-norway-panama-canal-canada-a52858e3075f9b5ad95e78753293fc1f
[10] Robert Greenall and Paul Kirby, “Denmark boosts Greenland defence after Trump repeats desire for US control,” British Broadcasting Corporation, December 24, 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgzl19n9eko
[11] Qasim Rashid, “Trump Threatens To Invade Foreign Nations—Media Whitewashes His Fascism,” Let’s Address This with Qasim Rashid, December 24, 2024, https://www.qasimrashid.com/p/trump-threatens-to-invade-foreign
[12] David Edwards, “‘We'll make it part of Alaska': Ex-Trump adviser explains plan to take over Greenland,” Raw Story, December 29, 2024, https://apple.news/AqM6zsNLjS-aYQs7C4eFubQ
[13] Christopher Holcroft, “Job 1 for 2025: Protecting Canada from US Oligarchs,” Tyee, December 30, 2024, https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/12/30/Protecting-Canada-US-Oligarchs/
[14] Alexandra Ulmer, “Trump threatens to designate Mexican cartels as terrorists,” Reuters, December 22, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-vows-launch-anti-drug-ad-campaign-designate-mexican-cartels-terrorists-2024-12-22/
[15] Brad Reed, “‘Love being the 51st State’: Trump trolls Canadians in wake of Trudeau resignation,” Raw Story, January 6, 2025, https://www.rawstory.com/trump-canada-2670750430/
[16] Rebecca Falconer, “Donald Trump Jr. visiting Greenland as father renews ownership call,” Axios, January 6, 2025, https://www.axios.com/2025/01/07/greenland-visit-donald-trump-jr-us-ownership-call
[17] David Edwards, “‘We'll make it part of Alaska': Ex-Trump adviser explains plan to take over Greenland,” Raw Story, December 29, 2024, https://apple.news/AqM6zsNLjS-aYQs7C4eFubQ; Rebecca Falconer, “Donald Trump Jr. visiting Greenland as father renews ownership call,” Axios, January 6, 2025, https://www.axios.com/2025/01/07/greenland-visit-donald-trump-jr-us-ownership-call; Robert Greenall and Paul Kirby, “Denmark boosts Greenland defence after Trump repeats desire for US control,” British Broadcasting Corporation, December 24, 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgzl19n9eko; Christopher Holcroft, “Job 1 for 2025: Protecting Canada from US Oligarchs,” Tyee, December 30, 2024, https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/12/30/Protecting-Canada-US-Oligarchs/; Brad Reed, “‘Love being the 51st State’: Trump trolls Canadians in wake of Trudeau resignation,” Raw Story, January 6, 2025, https://www.rawstory.com/trump-canada-2670750430/; Alexandra Ulmer, “Trump threatens to designate Mexican cartels as terrorists,” Reuters, December 22, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-vows-launch-anti-drug-ad-campaign-designate-mexican-cartels-terrorists-2024-12-22/; Will Weissert, “Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal,” Associated Press, December 23, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-greenland-norway-panama-canal-canada-a52858e3075f9b5ad95e78753293fc1f
[18] Seb Starcevic, “Trump refuses to rule out using military force to take Greenland and Panama Canal,” Politico, January 6, 2025, https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-military-force-greenland-panama-canal/
[19] Eugene Daniels, “MAGA meets Manifest Destiny,” Politico, January 8, 2025, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/01/08/maga-meets-manifest-destiny-00197031
[20] David Benfell, “Donald Trump repeats the Democrats' error,” Not Housebroken, January 5, 2025, https://www.disunitedstates.org/p/donald-trump-repeats-the-democrats
[21] Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, “Environment and Mineral Resources,” n.d., https://natur.gl/guidance/miljoe/?lang=en
[22] Virginia Department of Energy, “Rare Earth Elements,” n.d., https://energy.virginia.gov/geology/REE.shtml
[23] Christopher Holcroft, “Job 1 for 2025: Protecting Canada from US Oligarchs,” Tyee, December 30, 2024, https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/12/30/Protecting-Canada-US-Oligarchs/
[24] Eugene Daniels, “MAGA meets Manifest Destiny,” Politico, January 8, 2025, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/01/08/maga-meets-manifest-destiny-00197031