In the past, Donald Trump talked about keeping America out of foreign conflicts — but lately he's talked about potentially using force or economic pressure to acquire Greenland, the Panama Canal, even Canada. We'll speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning NYT national security correspondent David Sanger. He'll talk about how Trump might handle the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and Iran's growing nuclear threat.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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This is Fresh Air. I'm Dave Davies. The inauguration of Donald Trump to the presidency is just days away, which means, among other things, that U.S. foreign policy is about to see an adjustment. In addition to some major known challenges – the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Iran's nuclear program, and relations with China – Trump has thrown some new initiatives into the mix.
He's revived his interest in somehow buying or annexing Greenland and said he wants to take control of the Panama Canal, refusing to rule out military action to achieve both objectives. And for good measure, he said Canada would make a nice 51st state and said he might use economic force to make that happen.
Our guest, New York Times White House and national security correspondent David Sanger, has written that Trump's recent comments are a reminder that something else is coming back to Washington, a chaotic stream of consciousness presidency.
Sanger has spent four decades at the Times covering five presidents from Clinton to Biden and sharing in three Pulitzer Prizes, most recently for coverage of Russia's role in the 2016 election. Last April, Sanger published his fourth book, one which offers a framework for understanding the challenges the United States faces in an increasingly dangerous and volatile world.
It's called New Cold Wars, China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West. We've invited him back on the show to share some insights on what we might expect from a Trump foreign policy. Well, David Sanger, welcome back to Fresh Air. Dave, great to be back here with you. Let's start by listening to a bit of the news conference that Trump had in Mar-a-Lago.
This was last week. And this is a moment where you're asking him about some of this, you know, ambitions that he has articulated for taking Greenland and Canada and the Panama Canal. Let's listen.
Can you assure the world that as you try to get control of these areas, you are not going to use military or economic coercion?
No.
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