A geography lesson for Donald Trump: Russia is already our neighbor. Just ask Sarah Palin

News for Americans, including former New Yorkers currently living in Florida who may have fallen asleep in class

Donald Trump either slept through geography class or is talking nonsense again.

Of course, both could be true.

Speaking to a gaggle of oil company executives, he proclaimed:

"We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not. Because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor."

As if Russia weren’t already a neighbor.

A bit of fact-checking now:

Greenland is about 1,600 miles from the nearest point in the United States, and in between Greenland and our country’s east coast is a huge chunk of Canada.

Said another way, Greenland just isn’t that close.

In fact, many other countries are much closer — Including Russia. It’s only 55 miles from Alaska, just on the other side of the Bering Strait.

Which explains why, in a 2008 interview, former Alaska Gov. and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said she could see Russia from her home state, and which Saturday Night Live’s Tina Fey famously paraphrased:

"I can see Russia from my house!"

And, just in case Trump is reading this (or, more likely, having it read to him), Alaska is part of the United States.

So, again, not to put too fine a point on this, Russia is already our neighbor.

In fact, next to Mexico and Canada, Russia is the closest foreign country to us, even closer than Cuba and Venezuela.

It’s also closer than Puerto Rico, which, of course, isn’t a foreign country, but Trump acts confused about that, so I thought I’d throw it in.

During the Ice Age, sea levels were lower, and you could walk from Russia to Sarah Palin’s house.

A bit of digression:

When another geographically impaired fellow named Columbus sailed across the Atlantic and accidentally bumped into the Western Hemisphere, which he had no clue existed, he thought he was in India.

Which is why people started calling the indigenous people of our continent Indians.

In fact, according to anthropologists, if anything, they were Russians as their ancestors had migrated from Siberia across a land bridge that is now underwater in the Bering Strait. This was when sea levels were lower, 23,000 to 30,000 years ago during the Ice Age.

Back to this ‘neighbor’ issue

China, of course, is nowhere near us. It’s on the other side of the planet.

But what Trump failed to mention — and I do assume he knows this — is that Greenland is owned by Denmark, which is part of NATO, which means that if either China or Russia or anybody else (including the United States) tried to invade the island, it would mean war.

He also failed to mention that the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark already have a mutual defense treaty, Article II of which states that the United States, working with Denmark, can construct military bases all over Greenland.

Said another way, if national security were really Trump’s concern, he’d already be building more bases there.

He’s supposed to be this great business mind, so why would he want to “buy” Greenland — as he has talked about — when he can have everything he wants for free?

That does raise doubts about his motives. Or his business acumen.

Of course, both things could be in play.

J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press, a journalist, and award-winning author. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida.

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A note about ICE and violence

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office in Naples arrested an 18-year-old man this week on charges of threatening ICE agents on social media.

Please know: That is a second degree felony in Florida.

Violence is not the right response to ICE. Peaceful protest is.

Donald Trump WANTS you react in a manner that justifies the imposition of National Guard troops or martial law. Chaos works for him. Don’t play his game. Don’t give him what he wants.

We will be celebrating the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. later this month who, through his work and sacrifice, changed the laws of our nation in regard to social justice and racial equality. He did it through civil disobedience and peaceful protest.

Remember and honor Dr. King’s legacy. Thank you.

—JCB

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