CNN Faces Backlash Over Framing of Trump’s Territorial Expansion Proposals
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
CNN faced sharp criticism this week for its coverage of President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial ideas about “buying” Greenland, reclaiming the Panama Canal, and possibly annexing Canada. Critics accused the network of downplaying the implications of Trump’s remarks, framing them as comparable to historical land deals like the Louisiana Purchase.
Over the weekend, Trump lambasted the high costs of ships passing through the Panama Canal, calling it a ripoff and suggesting the U.S. should take back control—an act that would violate a 1977 treaty and likely require military intervention. Trump’s ambitions didn’t stop there.
According to The New York Times, Trump has long been fixated on Greenland, viewing the Denmark-owned island as a massive asset, likening it to “the large shop on the corner.” He has also proposed that Canada should become the United States’ next state.
CNN’s coverage of these ideas, however, drew backlash for what many saw as a sanitized portrayal. The network reported, “The president-elect has suggested a territorial extension into Panama, Greenland, and Canada. If he’s serious, it would rival the Louisiana Purchase.”
@cnn please stop sanitizing the unlawfulness
— malindac.bsky.social (@malindac.bsky.social) December 25, 2024 at 1:19 AM
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Election lawyer Marc Elias criticized CNN on Blue Sky, writing, “1. This ‘expansion’ would require military invasions of several allies in violation of international law. 2. It would violate several treaties. 3. The Louisiana Purchase was the sale of land by a colonial power (France). These are sovereign nations.”
Digital strategist Robert Cruickshank expressed his dismay on X, saying, “So Trump wants to annex Greenland, Canada, and Panama, and invade Mexico. A whole lot of gullible people were telling me he was the antiwar, anti-imperial candidate.”
Melanie D’Arrigo of the Campaign for New York Health accused CNN of “manufacturing consent for Trump to attack and invade our allies,” while Michael Tae Sweeney, a film and television editor, called out the network for what he described as years of enabling Trump’s agenda. “It’s all an effort to try to help Trump and fool their audience by lying to them,” Sweeney said on Blue Sky.
USA Today opinion columnist Michael J. Stern also weighed in, telling CNN, “When one country tries to take over parts of another country, it’s not ‘expansion,’ it’s an illegal act of war.” He linked this critique to CNN’s headline, “Trump is teasing US expansion into Panama, Greenland, and Canada.”
The uproar highlights growing concerns over media framing of Trump’s proposals, which critics argue could embolden dangerous geopolitical ambitions.
CNN is hopelessly broken. 1. This "expansion" would require military invasions of several allies in violation of international law. 2. It would violate several treaties. 3. The Louisiana Purchase was the sale of land by a colonial power (France). These are sovereign nations.
— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 9:58 PM
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CNN manufacturing consent for Trump to attack and invade our allies.
— Melanie D’Arrigo (@darrigomelanie.bsky.social) December 25, 2024 at 12:40 AM
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Same thing CNN has done for years, try to help Trump and fool their audience by lying to them
— Michael Tae Sweeney (@mtsw.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 8:05 AM
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Same thing CNN has done for years, try to help Trump and fool their audience by lying to them
— Michael Tae Sweeney (@mtsw.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 8:05 AM
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"Trump is teasing US expansion into Panama, Greenland and Canada" -CNN Hey CNN, when one country tries to take over parts of another country it's not "expansion," it's an illegal act of war. www.cnn.com/2024/12/23/p…
— Michael J. Stern (@michaeljstern.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 6:53 AM
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