President Donald Trump is privately ramping up his focus on another target in the Western Hemisphere, increasingly complaining to aides in recent weeks about Canada’s vulnerability to U.S. adversaries in the Arctic, according to two U.S. officials, a senior administration official and three former senior U.S. officials familiar with the discussions.
As Trump’s advisers work toward his goal of acquiring Greenland, the president has privately grown more exercised about what he sees as Canada’s similar inability to defend its borders against any encroachment from Russia or China, specifically arguing Canada needs to spend more on defense, the officials said. They said his push has accelerated internal discussions about a broader Arctic strategy and potentially reaching an agreement with Canada this year to fortify its northern border.
“Trump is really worried about the U.S. continuing to drift in the Western Hemisphere and is focused on this,” one of the officials said.
They insist he isn’t talking about invading but merely forcing them to spend vast sums on arctic security to repel China and Russia.
His obsession with the Arctic is about oil and minerals and Canada has both so I don’t believe for a moment that his interest is in national security. Some people have put a bug in his ear and he’s focused on changing maps and running the world for the benefit of his family and his rich buddies.
If he was really concerned about Russia and China, he wouldn’t be sucking up to them the way he does. He’s just divvying up the spoils.