‘A National Security Issue’: GOP Strategist Claims Trump’s Moves Are Checks Against Chinese Influence

Republican strategist Lance Trover said on Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump’s recent remarks about Greenland and the Panama Canal are strategic moves to curb Chinese influence.

Trump criticized how Panama manages the canal. He proposed that the United States take control of Canada and Greenland. During an appearance on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” Trover said Trump’s remarks about reclaiming control over strategic locations like the Panama Canal, as well as his interests in Greenland, are not idle boasts, but calculated checks against Chinese influence.

“We’re not going to war with Panama or Greenland. I don’t think there’s any invasions happening anytime soon,” Trover told Wolf Blitzer. “I think they’re negotiating tactics. He believes there’s a price issue that’s going on here. ”

Trover said that Trump‘s tactics are misunderstood yet essential.

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“There’s one central theme that I hear out of all of this, and that is the Chinese Communist Party because they clearly are taking Panama and Greenland seriously. We know for a fact they do control ports at each end. We know that they have been investing billions and billions of dollars to their belts and roads initiative in Panama. We know that they have tried to buy and build in Greenland,” Trover said.