United States President-elect Donald Trump announced the end of the Obama era in an hourlong news conference on January 7 at Mar-a-Lago. “We want to get along with everybody,” he said. “But … it takes two to tango. We’re approaching the dawn of America’s golden age. It’s going to be a golden age for America.”

To mark this “golden age,” Mr. Trump announced plans to secure the border and rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” His plan to make America great does not stop at the U.S.-Mexico border. He also suggested annexing Canada and taking control of Greenland and the Panama Canal.

For weeks, President Trump has half-joked with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about making Canada the 51st state. Both Trudeau and opposition leader Pierre Poilievre insist that Canada will never join the U.S. But businessman Kevin O’Leary supports the idea, so the press asked President Trump to clarify his plans. President Trump clarified that he obviously wouldn’t use military force to invade Canada. Rather, he wants to use economic force to pressure Canada into merger.

“Why are we supporting a country $200 billion plus a year?” he asked the press. “Our military is at their disposal—all these other things. They should be a state. That’s what I told Trudeau when he came down. I said, ‘What would happen if we didn’t do it?’ He said, ‘Canada would dissolve.’”

Trudeau has resigned, but Mr. Trump is not backing down on his tariff threats. He still plans to put a 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports after he takes office. Maybe he will lower the tariff if Canada cracks down on fentanyl trafficking and renegotiates its trade deal with the U.S. But it seems Mr. Trump will agree to free trade only if Canada becomes a state.

“Canada and the United States, that would really be something,” he told reporters after noting all the ways Canada rips off the U.S. economy and military. “You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security.”

Only time will tell how the dispute between Canada and the U.S. will end. President Trump is unlikely to treat Canadians like U.S. citizens until they agree to become U.S. citizens. However, a new conservative Canadian government may strike a deal on energy. In the meantime, Mr. Trump is taking a hard line against Denmark and Panama in his attempt to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal.

President Trump did not rule out using military force to acquire Greenland and retake the Panama Canal. But he prefers to use economics. Polls show Greenlanders want independence from Denmark but only if it doesn’t lower their living standards. There may even be a Greenland referendum on independence in April when the Arctic island has its next general election.

Denmark does not want this to happen, so Mr. Trump threatened to “tariff Denmark at a very high level” if it does not cooperate. “People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up, because we need it for national security.”

While President Trump talked to the press, his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., visited Greenland with a message from his dad: “We’re going to treat you well.” Many Greenlanders are excited about new business opportunities on the horizon, especially in the rare earth minerals mining sector.

Panama is less excited about the U.S. retaking the canal. But Mr. Trump was adamant that Panama has broken its agreement with the U.S. by letting the Chinese Communist Party into the country.

“Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country,” Trump said. “It’s being operated by China—China!—and we gave the Panama Canal to Panama; we didn’t give it to China. They’ve abused that gift.” The Trump administration is preparing to take action to protect America’s interests.

Tariffs on China might give Mr. Trump some leverage over the canal, but military action may also be required. Mr. Trump refused to rule out such action because he knows that both Greenland and Panama are necessary for U.S. security. The U.S. took military action in both places in World War ii and may have to do so again in the future if China or the European Union start taking over trade routes.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry noted in his January 3 Key of David that God may allow President Trump to reclaim the Panama Canal. He has compared Mr. Trump to the Israelite King Jeroboam ii, and 2 Kings 14:26-28 note that Jeroboam presided over an era of territorial expansion.

Obtaining both Panama and Greenland is possible. A merger with Canada is more of a long shot, but even there, we don’t know how big America’s economic resurgence will get before it ends.

We know, however, that the U.S. cannot hold key maritime choke points like the Davis Strait and the Panama Canal for long—unless it repents to God. In The United States and Britain in Prophecy, Herbert W. Armstrong explained how God made a promise to Abraham. He promised to give Abraham’s descendants control over the “gate” of their enemies (Genesis 22:17). A gate is a narrow passage of entrance or exit. When speaking nationally, a “sea gate” is a choke point like the Panama Canal.

God gave America and Britain control of almost every sea gate. This ensured they would become economic and military superpowers. But God warned that if America and Britain disobeyed Him, those sea gates would be taken and used against them (Deuteronomy 28:52). America and Britain have lost control of most of those sea gates. This proves they have turned from the God who made them great.

God has promised to spare America one last time so that its people have a chance to repent (Amos 7:8). President Trump is now discussing a united North America to defend the world’s trade routes from Russian and Chinese threats. Yet he needs God’s continued blessing to make this vision a reality.

To learn more about America’s rise and fall, read The United States and Britain in Prophecy.