Opposing Expansionist Rhetoric
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, I rise in strong opposition to the expansionist rhetoric that President Trump is directing toward America's strongest and longstanding allies and international partners.
Four days into the new administration, it is clear that the Trump foreign policy doctrine is motivated by territorial expansion and revanchism, or the obsession to recover so-called lost land.
This distorted worldview is anathema to America's historic role in defense of freedom across the globe. It also mirrors the imperial ambitions that have misled the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping into exerting economic and military power to attack and threaten sovereign nations and the rights of self-governing people in Ukraine, the Republic of Georgia, and Taiwan.
In his inaugural address, President Trump pronounced that the U.S. will ``expand our territory.'' He has specifically proposed that we make Greenland great again by annexing the island from Denmark, which is a NATO ally that he has threatened with tariffs unless it cedes to his demands. When asked if he would use military force to seize Greenland, President Trump refused to rule it out.
The President has similarly suggested that the U.S. could annex Canada as the 51st State, vowing to wield economic retribution against a country that, after World War II, helped us establish the very rules- based international order that he is now attempting to subvert.
As a matter of fact, since the First World War, more than 2 million Canadian Armed Forces personnel have fought right alongside, shoulder to shoulder, U.S. troops in defense of freedom and security in Europe, the Pacific theater, Korea, Kosovo, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan. Nearly 120,000 Canadian servicemembers have made the ultimate sacrifice in support of these U.S.-led operations. Just last year, Canada marked the 80th anniversary since over 14,000 of its Canadian soldiers stormed the beaches on D-day alongside American troops.
President Trump has also declared that he is taking back the Panama Canal, which returned to Panamanian control under the treaties negotiated by the U.S. and Panama in 1977. When asked if he would rule out the use of force to regain its control, the President refused to do so. The Republic of Panama is a strategic U.S. partner whose cooperation to combat drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and maritime piracy is vital to our national security.
Understandably, our allies and international partners have responded to these expansionist threats by reaffirming their right to self- determination.
The Prime Minister of Greenland stated: ``Our future and fight for independence is our business.'' The Foreign Minister of Denmark warned: ``We can't have a world order where [big] countries . . . can just help themselves to what they want.''
The Prime Minister of Canada declared: ``The 51st State, it is not going to happen.''
The President of Panama just alerted the United Nations Security Council that President Trump may be violating the U.N. charter, which prohibits the use of threats and force against the territorial integrity or political independence of other states.
Mr. Speaker, if President Trump continues to pursue expansionism at the expense of freedom and national security, America will join the ranks of gangster nations whose imperialist dictators violate international law just to expand their territorial power.
As Russian President Putin tells it, Russia has no borders, and Ukraine is simply historically Russian land that has been stolen.
President Xi has professed that Taiwan is China's ``sacred territory'' and that reunification is a ``historic inevitability.''
An American President simply cannot be espousing similar views.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to firmly reject expansionist rhetoric and actions taken by President Trump.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source