By David E. Sanger
Discussions arose regarding the increasing occurrences of stranded whales along the coasts of Massachusetts, which the president-elect attributed to the wind turbines positioned offshore. He noted, “They’re clearly agitating the whales.”
He pledged to modify the name of the Gulf of Mexico, via presidential order, to the “Gulf of America.” Additionally, Trump’s statements included a refusal to dismiss the possibility of employing military action to take control of the 51-mile Panama Canal on the basis of national security, in conjunction with the acquisition of Greenland, the world’s largest island, spanning 836,000 square miles.
Trump’s family and backers frequently proclaim “We are so back!” and indeed they are. However, during the more than hour-long speech at his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he unleashed threats and vehement criticisms of the Biden administration mixed with personal grievances, another phenomenon reemerged: the disordered, stream-of-consciousness style of presidency.
Trump has made his way back into the daily fabric of national awareness, although one might contend he never truly departed. The news conference on Tuesday reminded everyone of the essence of that experience and hinted at what the forthcoming four years could look like.
He elaborated on a grievance from his initial term: showerheads and sink faucets that fail to provide adequate water flow, reflecting a regulatory system perceived to be out of control. “It drips, drips, drips,” he remarked. “People tend to take longer showers or repeat their dishwashing cycles,” leading them to consume increased amounts of water.
The topic then shifted to the possibility of military conflict with Denmark. After refraining from excluding the use of coercion against a NATO ally to acquire property he desired, Trump suggested Denmark’s claim to Greenland might lack legitimacy.
“People generally are uncertain whether Denmark has any legal entitlement to it, but if they do, they ought to relinquish it, as we require it for national security,” he stated.
Regarding Panama, he stressed the need for the U.S. to safeguard against an immediate national security peril from China, even though conditions surrounding the canal remain virtually unchanged since his last tenure in the Oval Office.
“It could be that some action will be necessary,” he remarked vaguely when questioned about his assertion that military force might be the sole resolution to this issue.
Tuesday’s press conference bore a sense of familiarity, echoing moments from his previous administration. The conspiracy theories, fabricated truths, and deep grievances emerged — all despite his unprecedented political comeback. The allusions to unspecified “people.” The unequivocal statement that U.S. national security is presently under threat, lacking any clarification of how the strategic landscape has evolved to warrant such an infringement on independent nations’ sovereignty.
However, this version of Trump also displayed some notable distinctions that might be easily overlooked in a man who can effortlessly transition from discussing American plumbing issues to advocating for the revival of President William McKinley’s territorial ambitions.
He seems more motivated to take action this time compared to 2017. On multiple occasions during Tuesday’s event, he expressed frustration that Joe Biden remained in power. He lamented that he couldn’t meet with Vladimir Putin for negotiations regarding the Ukraine conflict until being officially inaugurated. He criticized the barrage of recent executive orders issued by Biden, aimed at limiting Trump’s actions or at least impeding his progress. One order, barring offshore drilling along significant portions of the U.S. coast, particularly incensed him, indicating he would immediately reverse it — unless it required judicial intervention first.
Biden, he claimed, was “effectively eliminating $50 to $60 trillion worth of assets” located below the ocean floor, without providing reasoning for why minimal drilling took place there prior to the order. He made no mention of the environmental factors that influenced Biden’s choice.
When the conversation shifted to the Middle East, Trump spoke as if he were already leading the negotiations, inviting his chief negotiator, Steve Witkoff, to the podium to state, “We’ve achieved some significant progress.” However, as Witkoff later pointed out, the negotiations were being led by Biden’s team, not Trump’s, though Trump’s representatives have been welcomed to join, preparing them to manage ongoing diplomacy involving Israel and Hamas.
Yet, at times it felt as if Trump was already in power, largely because Biden has quickly receded from public view.
With the outgoing president becoming less visible, Trump appears to recognize that when he takes the spotlight, no one will challenge his version of recent events. He is quickly rewriting that narrative, much like he reframed the occurrences of January 6, aiming to portray his election as proof that Americans believe he has been targeted by prosecutors due to spite rather than the pursuit of justice.
“That’s a deranged group of individuals, and it was all to manipulate the election,” Trump stated regarding the investigations led by special counsel Jack Smith. “It was all a conflict against their political adversary. We’ve never experienced that in this nation. We’ve seen that in other nations. We’ve witnessed it in third-world countries.” Predictably, he began to reference “banana republics,” a familiar refrain from his earlier term. Some things remain unchanged.
