Concerns mount as Donald Trump declares 'the Moon is ours' on social media

President Donald Trump is making one small step for man, one giant leap for the United States of America. Even though he might be one of the most powerful people in the world, we're not sure it's as simple as just going around and sticking your name on things you want to claim as yours.

Donald Trump's second term has already seen him try this by declaring Greenland as property of the USA, while continued jokes about Canada being the 51st state resulted in the recent controversial renaming of Lake Ontario as Lake America.

Setting his sights even further afield, the President of the United States is trying to claim the Moon as his. No one has set foot on the Moon since 1972, and while America looks like it'll do it as part of the ongoing Artemis program, does that really give it the right to plant a flag and claim the Moon for the USA?

Donald Trump under fire for latest Moon post

The president has become known for his sometimes outlandish Truth Social posts, with his rant about the Moon being no exception. On September 6, Donald Trump shared a post that simply said: "THE MOON IS OURS."

It came alongside a slew of other space-themed posts, including a redesigned Space Force uniform that was mocked for looking a little too similar to the villainous Galactic Empire from Star Wars.

His grand plans for the Earth's natural satellite didn't end there, with the POTUS sharing numerous dystopian artworks implying he'll move his fight against his enemies to the stars. Alongside an image of him sitting in an outer space command center as nukes rained down on Earth, there were some Warhammer 40k-esque mechs with him leading them.

On Truth Social, many of the replies to his Moon post were supportive, with some placing Trump's signature hair on the Moon, others calling him the best president ever, and many throwing their support behind him.

One particularly vocal fan cheered: "I believe with all my heart and mind that our world is being prepared for biblically-proportioned changes, accomplishments, and events leading up to the End of Time. Without a doubt our President Trump is laying important groundwork within space exploration and leadership in space, as well as global leadership."

The story wasn't the same on X, with most posts calling out the president's increasingly inflammatory messages.

One critic complained: "Donald Trump is a mental institution case. The sooner he is admitted the better for his health."

Another added: "He’s probably the emperor of the galaxy already if you ask him."

A third said: "This is really something he said? I thought it was a joke people were making. You can’t just claim the moon 😂."

Can the USA claim the Moon?

Putting it simply, no, the USA can't simply declare the Moon as its own property. An alarming number of those online appear to think that an American flag being on the Moon is enough to warrant the USA's claim.

We previously covered how the 1967 Outer Space Treaty declares that no single country can claim the Moon as its own. The treaty has 118 countries as signatories, including the spacefaring nations of China, Russia, and the USA.

Coming into power during the height of the Cold War, the Outer Space Treaty was largely established to ensure countries couldn't place nuclear weapons in orbit or on celestial bodies, also ensuring that space is free to be explored as long as it's for "the province of all mankind."

Dated wording about lunar and asteroid mining has called the Outer Space Treaty's relevance into question in the 21st Century, especially after the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 legalized space mining.

Things have been complicated by 2020’s Artemis Accords, which are a non-binding international agreement led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State, setting practical principles for the peaceful civil exploration and use when it comes to the Moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids.

There are further fears that the USA could pull out of the Outer Space Treaty, although that would likely trigger a war of its own.

The USA 'owning' the Moon as a whole is a seemingly impossible claim, but with possession being nine-tenths of the law, it's technically true that any country that builds its own lunar base would own the land it's on and the immediate area.

With the White House previously saying America will never 'give up' the Moon again, President Trump looks determined to keep expanding his empire.