Dem Rep. Seth Moulton Ponders on CNN Whether Trump May ‘Want to Take Over’ Poland or India After Greenland
Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Seth Moulton on Saturday pondered aloud on CNN Newsroom whether President Donald Trump might want to “take over” Poland, India, or even Mongolia after Greenland, due to those nations’ proximities to Russia and China.
At a presser on Friday, the president told reporters that it’s “not a question” that the U.S. “has to have” Greenland.
“We need Greenland very importantly for international security. We have to have Greenland. It’s not a question of do you think we can do without it? We can’t,” Trump said, citing Chinese and Russian ships in arctic waterways as a threat to peace that Demark isn’t prepared to handle.
“We’re not talking about peace for the United States. We’re talking about world peace,” Trump said.
CNN’s Jessica Dean played the clip of Trump’s remarks before asking Moulton whether there is a genuine threat at play. Moulton conceded that the threat is real, and that Russia’s military is in fact using the waterways and setting up “a lot of bases” in the Arctic.
“Yes, those are real security concerns,” said Moulton, but adding that the United States should deal with those concerns by “enlisting our allies” for help. He then pivoted to the rhetorical question about taking over other countries.
“So, if Trump is so concerned about Russia and China, then does he want to take over Poland, because they border Russia? Does he want to take over India, because they border China? Does he want to take over Mongolia, kind of in between the two?” Moulton said to Dean.
“I mean, this is just absurd,” he said of the hypothetical actions in his rhetorical proposition. “That’s not how the United States operates. It’s a dumb way to conduct foreign policy.”
Also on Saturday, Trump participated in a golf tournament at his club in Florida with the President of Finland, with whom he later said he discussed America’s pressing need for “icebreaker” ships — a clear reference to his goal of taking over Greenland.
DEAN: What are these concerns with Russia and China’s interests there in the Arctic? Are those real? And is it just that you believe he’s going about this in the wrong way?
MOULTON: The irony is that they’re actually real because of climate change, which is reducing the ice in the Arctic, making it much easier for ships to travel. And Russia is establishing a lot of bases up there. Yes, those are real security concerns. And the way America has addressed serious national security concerns for decades is to enlist our allies’ help. Because we don’t have the forces to put everywhere around the globe.
So, if Trump is so concerned about Russia and China, then does he want to take over Poland, because they border Russia? Does he want to take over India, because they border China? Does he want take over Mongolia kind of in between the two? I mean, this is just absurd. That’s not how the United States operates. It’s a dumb way to conduct foreign policy. And it doesn’t strengthen our national security, it actually puts our national security at risk because our greatest strength is our allies. And when our allies can’t trust us, they won’t fight for us. They won’t stand up to our adversaries. And all of that makes America much less safe.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
