President Trump Demonstrates Jeffersonian Brilliance with Greenland Deal

Like Jefferson, President Trump viewed the geopolitical chess board and was operating many moves ahead.

Upon his arrival to Davos, President Donald Trump was the scourge of European bureaucrats, the vast majority of whom were posturing aggressively over the Greenland standoff – with some even suggesting that military engagement would be imminent to stop President Trump’s desires to annex the Danish-occupied country.

By the time he left the infamous globalist conflab, President Trump had struck a deal and gotten exactly what he had been angling for all along.

President Trump announced his Greenland deal on Wednesday which reportedly includes America taking sovereign claims over different parts of Greenland with an increase in NATO security on the island designed to keep hostile adversaries from dominating the island’s natural resources.

In doing so, President Trump completed a Jeffersonian master stroke of historic proportions. Although founding father Thomas Jefferson wrote eloquently and presciently about the need for limited government, he realized as President that sometimes the heavy hand of the executive becomes necessary to ensure crucial economic and national security objectives.

As the nation’s chief executive, Jefferson was perhaps best known for the Louisiana Purchase, which vastly expanded American territory and enabled the Manifest Destiny that would come to define the national character. He did not acquire this land through happenstance or by dovish means. Jefferson used aggressive and perhaps even ruthless tactics to ensure America’s growth and potential, and we remain better off for it so many generations later.

Leveraging European Rivalries

Jefferson understood that French control of Louisiana posed a major strategic threat after Napoleon Bonaparte reobtained Louisiana from Spain in 1800. France’s imperial ambition under Napoleon was undeniable, and Jefferson wisely leveraged the rivalry between France and Britain in order to give himself better bargaining power.

Jefferson was wise not to confront France directly but created an indirect campaign of influence that let it be known how continued French control would push the United States toward a closer alliance with Britain. Jefferson disliked Britain and was repulsed at the idea of an alliance with them, but there was no reason for Napoleon to understand the magnitude of his disdain. This successful gambit brought the French to the table for serious talks.

Setting Strategic Private and Public Goals

Officially, Jefferson instructed U.S. envoys James Monroe and Robert Livingston to focus publicly on securing New Orleans and navigation rights on the Mississippi. The less aggressive public posture assuaged any possible fears from Britain or France. Behind closed doors, the tone was markedly different. The Jefferson administration was hoping to secure as much land as possible. This gave American negotiators room to maneuver without tipping their hand, building momentum that could be seized upon at an opportune time.

Exploiting French Desperation

By 1802–1803, France’s position in North America collapsed far faster than Napoleon had expected. What looked in 1800 like a revived French empire in the New World had, within two years, become a strategic burden. Napoleon’s entire North American strategy hinged on Saint-Domingue. The island was meant to be the economic engine of a French Atlantic empire, with Louisiana serving as its granary and supply base. Instead, a successful slave revolt led by Toussaint Louverture—and later Jean-Jacques Dessalines—destroyed that plan.

War between France and Britain resumed after the Peace of Amiens collapsed in 1803. Britain controlled the seas, and Napoleon feared the embarrassment of Britain easily conquering Louisiana and what that would do to his ongoing war effort. War between France and Britain resumed after the Peace of Amiens collapsed in 1803. Britain controlled the seas, and Napoleon feared the embarrassment of Britain easily conquering Louisiana and what that would do to his ongoing war effort. Napoleon also needed money to fund his wars in Europe. Selling Louisiana, a great long-term but poor short-term investment, would help fuel Napoleon’s imperialist ambitions.

Striking While the Iron was Hot

When France unexpectedly offered to sell all of Louisiana, Jefferson did not reopen negotiations or hesitate for perfection. Jefferson pressed ahead despite understanding that there would be serious pushback about the Constitutionality of the purchase, knowing delay could kill the deal or invite British interference. It is true that the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly grant the federal government the power to purchase vast foreign territory or permanently incorporate it into the United States, but Jefferson knew opportunity when he saw it. He ultimately chose pragmatism over strict constitutionalism.

Jefferson made the argument that the treaty-making power of Article II of the U.S. Constitution included the authority to acquire territory, that sovereign nations had long used treaties to transfer land, and the Constitution did not explicitly prohibit such acquisitions. The Senate ultimately saw merit in Jefferson’s arguments and Congress approved the funding of the deal. The legacy of the Louisiana Purchase would be expanding federal power through implied authority, establishing the treaty power as a tool for territorial expansion and making it clear that the Constitution was not written to hamstring a great President’s ability to make deals.

Like Jefferson, President Trump viewed the geopolitical chess board and was operating many moves ahead. President Trump was able to put the maximum amount of pressure on the EU and NATO, realizing that ultimately – despite their tough talk – they rely on the U.S. far more than we rely on them. Predictably, they buckled under the pressure, and President Trump was able to get what he wanted while also allowing our “allies” to save face. This is America First diplomacy at its finest, and Thomas Jefferson no doubt looks down with pride as he sees a Chief Executive carrying on his cunning legacy of national expansion.