US politics newsletter - Embracing expansionism

By Steve Holland

Jan 9 (Reuters) - During a wide-ranging news conference at Mar-a-Lago this week, President-elect Donald Trump spoke of his desire to expand the U.S. sphere of influence from the Arctic to the tropics and to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America – the latest sign that his “America First” agenda will have less of an isolationist bent in his second term.

I’m Steve Holland, a White House correspondent for Reuters, and I am writing this while covering Trump’s latest moves from West Palm Beach, Florida, where an iguana the size of Godzilla has parked itself on a ledge outside my hotel room. I was part of the press corps at Trump’s oceanfront club for a news conference by the president-elect where he set the stage for his return to the White House on Jan. 20.

Trump refused to rule out the use of military or economic action to pursue the acquisition of the Panama Canal and Greenland, part of an agenda to increase U.S. influence and leave a grandiose legacy that he has promoted since winning the Nov. 5 election. He also irked Canada by again talking about making it the 51st U.S. state and jolted European allies worried about maintaining international borders as wars and territorial disputes roil the world.

And Trump made clear he is keeping a close eye on President Joe Biden’s attempt to negotiate a Gaza hostages-for-ceasefire deal in his waning days in office, warning of “hell to pay” for Hamas if no agreement is sealed before Trump's inauguration.

Trump left no question that he is ready to shake things up in Washington like he did during his 2017-2021 presidency and is eager to take a fresh look at America’s place in the world and adjust accordingly if possible. The length of the news conference, an hour and 10 minutes, showed the 78-year-old Republican still has a lot of stamina. He went on an extended riff declaring that gas heat is better than electric heat because it doesn’t make you itch and complained once again about low-flow faucets and shower heads.

Trump also complained at length about Biden’s attempt to solidify his own legacy as a conservationist by banning new offshore oil and gas development along most U.S. coastlines. Trump campaigned on a pledge to boost domestic energy production and is preparing a wide-ranging plan to do so.

Today, Trump is back in Washington, where he will be among the luminaries attending the funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

Trump spent nearly two hours on Wednesday evening talking to Senate Republicans in a closed-door meeting about his upcoming agenda. They emerged with no clear path for enacting his plan to cut taxes, boost fossil fuel production and deport millions of immigrants in the United States illegally.

The visit to the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday was Trump’s first since his supporters stormed the building on Jan. 6, 2021 in a failed bid to block certification of the 2020 election result. This week’s drama-free certification of Trump’s 2024 victory marked a sharp contrast to four years ago, with a stoic Vice President Kamala Harris overseeing the quadrennial ritual in her ceremonial role as president of the Senate.

FACT CHECK OF THE WEEK:

MAGA infighting about H-1B visas over the holidays spawned viral posts accusing U.S. employers of abusing the skilled worker visa program to hire foreign dancers on the cheap. But a screenshot shared as evidence by former Trump insider Laura Loomer showed a record of Chippendales and a Kentucky ballet company applying for the E-3 temporary work visa, which is specifically for Australian nationals and separate from the H-1B program. Read more Find more fact checks from around the world here.

THE VIEW FROM ... GREENLAND:

Trump’s renewed interest in Greenland has been greeted enthusiastically by some Greenlanders, although others say the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark is not for sale.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Jan. 9: Trump and Biden attend Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington

Jan. 10: Trump due to be sentenced in New York in hush money case

Jan 18: “The People’s March” to protest Trump administration in Washington

Jan. 19: Trump holds pre-inauguration rally in Washington

Jan. 20: Trump’s Inauguration Day

THE WHO, WHAT AND WHEN:

What happens on Trump’s Inauguration Day?

What Trump said about Canada, Mexico, NATO and Gaza hostages at news conference

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Alistair Bell)

((alistair.bell@thomsonreuters.com))