Putting America First

President-elect Donald Trump held a press conference yesterday at Mar-a-Lago. He spoke for over an hour and took questions on a wide range of issues from the press corps. It was a stark contrast to Joe Biden’s last press conference in early October, which lasted less than 15 minutes.

Trump repeated his warning that “all hell will break out” if Hamas does not release its hostages by inauguration day. Most of Hamas’s hostages are Israelis, but the radical Islamists are still holding several Americans.

Trump announced that he is sending his special envoy for the Middle East to deliver his message directly to Hamas. We’ll see what happens.

There was nothing crazy or extreme about his remarks. That’s the way an American president should act and speak when American citizens are threatened and taken hostage. Just ask Ronald Reagan.

Trump also repeated his concerns about the Panama Canal and Greenland. These are not stupid things or minor issues.

Panama is likely in violation of the treaty it made with us when we handed over control of the canal. The treaty mandates that nothing be done at the canal that threatens America’s security. But Panama has allowed communist China to gain footholds on both ends of the canal.

Trump’s strong language is what a president should say, which is why Joe Biden hasn’t said it.

As for Trump’s interest in Greenland, this is not a bizarre or totally wild idea. Like the Panama Canal, Greenland has tremendous strategic importance for the United States.

We strongly considered buying it in the late 1860s. In 1917, we bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark. Why? Because we wanted a nice place to go on vacation? No. We needed their ports during World War I.

After Nazi Germany occupied Denmark in World War II, the United States made Greenland a U.S. protectorate, and we set up military bases on the island.

There is a delegation in Greenland now led by the president’s son to discuss issues we care about. The island is basically a big chunk of ice. It only has 56,000 people.

But it is loaded with vital natural resources, and it has a strategic and economic importance way beyond what many people think. Whoever controls Greenland will have the inside track on controlling the Arctic.

Donald Trump is putting America first. This is how he negotiates, and we’ll see what happens.