Rubio backs Trump's controversial Greenland, Panama Canal acquisition plans

Rubio defended Trump's proposed territorial expansions as a 'national interest,' while Denmark and Greenland firmly rejected offers amid concerns over potential military action.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF JANUARY 31, 2025 02:42

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), US President Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of State, arrives ahead of the Presidential Inauguration of Trump at the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 20, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/POOL)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed President Donald Trump’s recent comments about buying Greenland and the Panama Canal, saying it would be in "the national interest" of the US during an interview with Megyn Kelley on Thursday.

"This is not a joke," Rubio said,  "This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land. This is in our national interest and it needs to be solved."

Rubio would not rebuke Trump’s statements about “not ruling out” the use of military force to acquire the territories.

“He is not going to begin what he views as a negotiation or a conversation by taking ... leverage off the table, and that’s a tactic that’s used all the time in business,” Rubio said. 

“It’s being applied to foreign policy and I think to great effect in the first term.”

'Not for sale'

Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark – a NATO ally – and Greenland's Prime Minister Múte Egede have stated to Trump "that Greenland is not for sale."

Additionally, Rubio said that as the Arctic ice continues to melt, the region would become “critical for shipping lanes, ” stating that if the US didn’t move forward with the deal, China could take over the territory.

“So the question becomes, if the Chinese begin to threaten Greenland, do we really trust that that is not a place where those deals are going to be made?” Rubio asked. 

“Do we really trust that that is not a place where they would not intervene, maybe by force?”