'This Is Not a Joke': Donald Trump Is Serious About Buying Greenland and the Panama Canal, Declares Marco Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump's interest in acquiring Greenland and gaining control over the Panama Canal, deeming it crucial for U.S. national security interests.

During an appearance on SiriusXM's "The Megyn Kelly Show," Rubio clarified that this endeavor should be taken seriously.

"This is not a joke. This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land," the secretary of state told Megyn Kelly. "This is in our national interest, and it needs to be solved."

Rubio went on to downplay Trump’s previous refusal to rule out using the military to acquire the territory from Denmark by saying, "This is a businessman who’s involved in politics, not a politician involved in politics."

"He approaches these issues from a transactional, business point of view," he explained. "He is not going to begin what he views as a negotiation or a conversation by taking any leverage off the table. He wants to buy it, he wants to pay for it."

Rubio explained that the Arctic Circle will become "critical for shipping lanes" as Trump expands domestic U.S. energy production, adding he fears Denmark won’t be able to stop China if the communist power sets its sights on Greenland.

He told Kelly: "The Arctic has some of the world’s most valuable shipping lanes in the world … We need to be able to defend that."

"It is completely realistic to believe that the Chinese will eventually, maybe in the short term, try to do in Greenland what they have done at the Panama Canal and in other places, and that is install facilities that give them access to the Arctic, with the cover of a Chinese company," Rubio continued, warning that the Chinese companies would serve "a dual purpose" and give the U.S. issues to dispatch naval vessels in potential future conflicts.

Rubio, who is planning to visit the Panama Canal this weekend, said he plans to discuss ownership of the areas the U.S. helped build.

"I think the president’s been pretty clear he wants to administer the canal again," he told the podcast host.

The Trump official added that he believes Panama is in "violation of the treaty agreement" regarding the canal due to Chinese companies being allowed to operate port facilities on both the entry and exit points of the canal.

He also brought up how much of the infrastructure that surrounds the key waterway is also run by China.