Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has signed 111 executive orders, with most Democrats deeming them an overreach of power and many facing legal challenges. Since returning to the Oval Office, Trump has also resumed his characteristically brazen rhetoric, perpetuating outrage toward his agenda.
However, many of Trump’s second-term grievances extend past U.S. borders as he takes aim at foreign leaders and threatens the sovereignty of historic allies. As his administration becomes increasingly nationalist, Trump’s recent executive actions, speeches and far-fetched expansionist ideas reveal his most important goal: personal political immortality. Trump’s pursuit of lasting influence through executive action suggests that he is more focused on cementing his legacy than on fostering genuine diplomatic or domestic progress.
During his inaugural address, Trump set his intentions for extending American political power — and thus his own power — when he assured that his administration would “pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars.” He states that Mars is not his top priority, but his actions speak louder than words, pouring billions of federal dollars into SpaceX, billionaire and tech giant Elon Musk’s company. This statement was not merely about space exploration but also a thinly veiled declaration of imperialist ambitions. Trump used his reintroduction to the Oval Office to echo the sentiments of Musk, a “special government employee” who champions the privatization of space exploration. Further, Trump invoked the racist 19th-century belief of white Americans’ God-given right to expand upon native territory, which aligns with his power-hungry ambitions for a legacy of imperialist dominance.
Manifest Destiny was a doctrine white settlers used to legitimize the violent displacement of indigenous communities and the annexation of vast regions of the West in the nineteenth-century United States. By reviving this language in the context of modern space exploration, Trump’s rhetoric suggests a continuation of the colonial mindset — one that views expansion as both inevitable and righteous. This symbolic alignment reinforces the notion of American exceptionalism, positioning the nation as a pioneering force on Earth and beyond while sidestepping the historical trauma and ethical concerns entangled in the legacy of Manifest Destiny.
In reality, Trump’s plan for a manned interplanetary mission to Mars — supported by Musk, who aims to send off astronauts within the next few years — is highly infeasible. A recent statement by The Planetary Society, an independent space interest organization, stressed scientists’ concerns over space funding. With a proposed 50% cut to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) budget, Trump’s Mars proposal is ludicrously ambitious and a goal he is paradoxically working against. Rather than caring about spaceward expansion, Trump is using space exploration as an inadequate surrogate for his own immortalization.
After Trump’s first term, his contradictory — and often inflammatory — policy proposals are not as shocking as they used to be. Yet, many world leaders targeted by Trump are no longer brushing off his threats. Instead, these governments are taking the Trump administration seriously, allowing Trump’s own words to raise concerns about their economic and political sovereignty.
On March 28, Vice President JD Vance visited Greenland on behalf of the Trump administration, a political move building upon weeks of discourse surrounding the Denmark-dependent island. In a recent statement, Trump expressed his desire to acquire Greenland and incorporate it into the United States, calling it a “large real estate deal” and suggesting it would be strategically beneficial for the country. For Trump, Greenland is the next frontier for the American empire and first on his bucket list of accomplishments to paint himself as a successful expansionist.
For Greenlanders, however, Trump’s incursions are not just unwelcome — they threaten the cultural fabric of the nation and its people. With a population that is nearly 90% Inuit, a U.S. takeover would likely reap the same cultural erasure that plagued states like Hawaii. Although 84% of Greenlanders want independence from Denmark, they want that independence to be genuine and not impeded by another bully on the international playground. In fact, 85% of Greenlanders are against their nation joining the United States.
Despite Greenlanders’ protests, Trump has persisted, as he has with other attacks on some of the nation’s close allies. In a public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Feb., Trump undermined Ukraine’s diplomatic standing and cast doubt on the United States as a reliable partner, weakening Western unity and emboldening adversaries. Furthermore, Trump’s tariffs on Canada have already wrought havoc on Canada's small businesses and brought a drastic turn of political support away from Canadian conservatives. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal Party expect sweeping support in the upcoming snap election — a direct result of Trump’s actions.
Additionally, over the past week, Trump has signed a slew of extreme and uniquely shocking tariffs against nearly all of the United States’ trading partners, resulting in counter-tariffs that have sent the U.S. economy into a nosedive not seen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In the same breath, as of April 9 Trump has allegedly decided to reverse these reciprocal tariffs because “people were jumping a little bit out of line.”
Trump’s foreign policy is a spectacle, much like the Republican proposal to put Trump’s likeness on the $100 bill and carve his face into the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Trump’s actions are symbolic of attempting to carve his image into America itself. As intended, Trump uses his electoral mandate to begin new, unnecessary foreign battles. These gestures of self-aggrandizement distract from domestic challenges of social welfare for everyday Americans, allowing Trump to project strength and dominance onto the world stage while cultivating a mythos of invincibility. By framing foreign conflicts as opportunities for personal legacy building rather than genuine national interest, Trump’s approach reflects his ultimate goal: achieving political immortality, no matter the lasting damage to the nation.
Emory University’s own contradictory actions reveal how institutions can claim solidarity with Indigenous communities while simultaneously contributing to continuous systems of harm. While Emory’s Land Acknowledgement, Native American and Indigenous Studies programs and initiatives like the Indigenous Language Path Working Group suggest a commitment to honoring Indigenous communities and fostering connections with the Muscogee Nation. However, as this acknowledgment contrasts sharply with the University’s institutional support for projects like the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, commonly known as Cop City, which faces active opposition from Muscogee people, such progress appears performative. A legacy of social justice favors Emory’s image but not its pocketbook, and the initiatives mentioned above should only be interpreted as the institution’s attempt to preserve a particular narrative in history books.
Similarly, Trump’s desire for immortalization leaves a trail of destabilization in the face of outright dissent of his self-importance. Trump’s recent international antagonism – fueled by his desire to cement his personal legacy – is a threat that merits acknowledgment and action. After all, one man’s desire for immortality should not come at the cost of other nations’ independence and security or the United States’ reputation on the global stage. And on a smaller scale, Emory – in the same way – must be held accountable for its hollow initiatives and hypocritical actions, which prioritize image over progress, a dangerous practice amidst a President who is doing the same.
The above editorial represents the majority opinion of The Emory Wheel’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is composed of Editorial Board Editor Carly Aikens, Arts & Life Editor Hunter Buchheit, Allie Guo, Carson Kindred, Mira Krichavsky, Eliana Liporace, Niki Rajani, Josh Rosenblut, Ilka Tona and Crystal Zhang.
