‘We’ll expand our territory,’ says Trump. Um, to where?
Three extraordinary words were sandwiched into Trump’s inaugural speech — deep enough in the midst of a lengthy sentence that they risk going unnoticed.
Trump referred to expanding U.S. territory, something that has not happened in generations. He tucked the words “expand our territory” into a string of things he wants to do.
It’s obviously notable given all of Trump’s recent musings: making Canada a state, annexing Greenland and reclaiming the Panama Canal.
But it was vague. He’d just been speaking about taking back the Panama Canal, and then talked about planting the American flag on Mars.
It was sandwiched in an intervening to-do list: “The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation — one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons. And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars — launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars. Ambition is the lifeblood of a great nation and right now our nation is more ambitious than any other.”
To be clear, Trump did not refer in his speech, in any way, to either Canada or Greenland. For what it’s worth, the idea of annexing either of those places is deeply unpopular among Americans, according to a poll released a few days ago by the Wall Street Journal.