Donald Trump’s Proposal to Purchase Greenland: Letters

The Matter: President-elect Donald Trump’s discussions on acquiring Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal.

President-elect Donald Trump’s interest in overseeing the Panama Canal carries significant strategic implications (“How the West was Don,” Jan. 8).

Control of the Panama Canal is vital for the U.S. Navy’s activities in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Acquiring Greenland would be critical for addressing navigation concerns in the increasingly utilized Northwest Passage.

The United States must secure both regions.

China has displayed interest in the Panama Canal, while both Russia and China are keen on the Northwest Passage.

Kevin Harrington

The Bronx

As a first-generation American, the offspring of parents from Nova Scotia, Canada, I propose to Trump that Canada become the 51st state: there are several reasons to be cautious.

The primary concern is that Anglophone Canadians have a distinct culture.

Additionally, French speakers have a significant disdain for “les maudits anglais” (the damned English).

If this is such a brilliant concept, why was it not discussed along with the Panama Canal, Greenland, and the Gulf of “America” during the campaign?

Andrew J. MacDonald

Fanwood, NJ

Canadian politicians countering Trump’s statehood idea might suggest annexing California, Washington, and Oregon.

Removing the West Coast liberal bastions would truly make America great again.

Walter Goldeski

East Brunswick, NJ

If we do not establish complete control over the Panama Canal, this remarkable route from east to west could merely become a stopover for the Chinese to assert dominance over the United States.

We could gain control of the canal solely through economic pressure.

I argue this is the sole avenue to integrate East and West.

If we desire a peaceful future for America, we must maintain absolute oversight over the waterways that our state ship traverses.

Henry J.H. Wilson

Washington, DC

Concerning Greenland, gaining ownership should not be complicated: there are only 56,000 inhabitants.

A simple offer of a million each for opting to become a U.S. territory in a referendum totals a mere $56 billion.

Heck, offer them $2 million and a condo in Florida.

It remains a solid deal.

Walter Kitchenman

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Matter: Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement to discontinue Meta’s third-party fact-checking policy.

Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Meta will abolish its third-party fact-checking systems on Facebook and Instagram, instead opting for a “community notes” based content moderation approach (“Zuck dramatic about-face,” Jan. 8).

Claiming that free speech has not been systematically suppressed during the Biden-Harris administration would be the height of denialism.

Regardless of the intended “justifications” (or rather “rationalizations”) for silencing open discussions of “dissenting opinions” under the guise of public health and safety, this action contradicts the very principles of democracy and is fundamentally wrong.

You cannot undermine democracy while striving to preserve it.

Arthur Saginian

Santa Clarita, Calif.

When Mark Zuckerberg announced the cessation of fact-checking, he was flaunting a Gruebel Forsey watch valued at around $900,000.

It does look quite impressive, but so does my house for about the same price.

Doesn’t Facebook possess a clock feature, or has its reliability gone down with no one confirming its accuracy?

Dennis Fitzgerald

Melbourne, Australia

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