Donald Trump’s proposals to annex Greenland, the Panama Canal, and/or Canada—and now an executive order renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America”—represents another ridiculous betrayal of the “America First” ideology he ran on and further illustrates another example of his difficulty in understanding economics (e.g., his proposed protectionist tariffs). Not only would these moves towards annexation be frowned upon constitutionally, ethically, and economically, but they would only serve to expand a globalist agenda, and destabilize both the US and the world altogether.
First and foremost, annexation is patently in conflict with the libertarian self-ownership principle. Since every human being, as explained by Rothbard, has a property right in his own body and the fruits of his labor, that establishes straightaway that no one has any claim to another human being or upon his territory without consent. Every such notion ignores the rights of self-ownership of its inhabitants in taking Greenland or Canada forcefully.
I disagree with the author to some degree. If Trump is making an offer to buy, the receiver of the offer can either deny the offer or make a counteroffer. There is nothing wrong with that! It is all voluntary and if the people of that place agree then there is no coercion involved. If the people of Canada or Canadian Provences wish to become territories of the US or states of the US, then it is up to them. On the Panama Canal, if it was given as part of a contract and the contract is being violated, what can you say? As long as no military force is used then making the big ask is nothing more than starting talks, not an invasion.