‘It’s hard to tell’: is Trump serious about Greenland, Panama Canal?
Experts say US president-elect’s rhetoric could be a ‘message’ for China, which has increased its influence in Latin America and the Arctic
By challenging the sovereignty of some of Washington’s closest allies four weeks before he even returns to the Oval Office, the US-president elect has underscored his credentials as global disrupter-in-chief.
His comments have renewed fears from his first term that Trump will end up being harsher on US friends than he is on adversaries like Russia and China.
But there are also suspicions that billionaire tycoon Trump is looking for leverage as part of the “art of the deal” – and that the former reality television star is grabbing headlines to look strong at home and abroad.
“It’s hard to tell how much of this he really wants, and how much is the latest sound bite that will be heard around the world,” said Frank Sesno, a professor at George Washington University and former White House correspondent.
“He puts other leaders in position of having to figure out what is literal and what is not,” he said.
