By Ben Elsberg’25
A few weeks ago, incoming President-elect Donald Trump held a press conference laying out his vision for his second term. He laid out bold promises and called for a new era of American global influence. His roadmap for a second term, which he laid out in his home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, called for many things, from bringing back drilling in the ocean to taking Greenland—Trump’s vision for America in his second term echoes his first term policy of “America First,” but this time with a new flavor of Manifest Destiny attached.
Trump has been known for his extreme pro-fossil fuel stance, and Trump made clear that he still maintains that position in his press conference. Trump made clear that his first order of business when he returns to the White House is to reverse Biden’s restrictions on fossil fuels and revert back to his mantra of “drill baby drill!” Despite the extremely negative effects this would have on the environment, Trump believes that loosening environmental restrictions on oil drilling will lower energy costs and promote economic prosperity if restrictions on oil drilling are lifted. These statements reflect the old American attitude of prioritizing industry over the environment.
Trump then started speaking of his desires to take Greenland, the Panama Canal, and even Canada—ideas that sound eerily familiar to Manifest Destiny. Trump seems eager to bring back an age of American imperialism that existed centuries ago—an age where the United States expanded its territory beyond its borders. Trump has justified his statements that mirror Manifest Destiny by claiming that securing Canada, the Panama Canal, and Greenland is in the economic interests of the United States to do so.
Trump’s statements have already received widespread attention and have gotten reactions from many world leaders. Some of his supporters claim that the President-elect was just kidding about his imperialistic ambitions, while others justify it by saying that it is indeed vital to the National security interests of the United States to secure those regions under the control of the United States.
Mr. Trump’s press conference highlights the fact that the chaos brought by his first term has not gone away and that he is more than willing to shake up global affairs in order to fit his vision of “America First.” He has made clear that he intends to bring back ideals that were once considered long forgotten–Manifest Destiny—back to being implemented into American foreign policy. Regardless of what happens, the world can rest assured that the new Trump administration will certainly be a major change from the events of the past 4 years.
