Offen Quoted in Politico Article on Trump’s Obsession With Maps

May 30, 2025

Politico

Karl Offen

Geography & the Environment Department

Program on Latin America & the Caribbean

Federal

Foreign Policy

International Affairs

Maps

United States

Politico

Karl Offen

President Donald Trump’s expansionist rhetoric, including proposals to make Canada the 51st U.S. state and rename global geographic landmarks, reflects a long-standing fascination with maps and territorial acquisition rooted in his real estate background.

These statements have sparked international tensions, domestic confusion and geopolitical backlash, highlighting how Trump’s symbolic map-based claims are influencing foreign policy and global diplomacy.

It’s a political tactic that has lasted as long as maps have, according to Karl Offen, professor of geography and the environment. “Maps and politics have been wedded from day one,” Offen says. “To name is to claim.”

Read more in the Politico article, “‘To name is to claim:’ Inside Trump’s cartographical compulsion.”