On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump hinted that he may use “economic force” to buy Canada and military action to regain control of Greenland and the Panama Canal.
A reporter asked Trump, during a free-flowing news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, if he could guarantee the public that he would not employ military coercion against Greenland or Panama, a goal he has hinted at in recent weeks. Trump stated, “We need them for economic security, but I can’t guarantee you on either of those two.” He then declared that he would only employ “economic force” rather than military power against Canada.
Trump claimed that if the US took over Canada, it would truly be something.
After you remove that fabricated line, you examine what that looks like. According to Trump, it would also be far better for national security. They’re fantastic, but we’re investing hundreds of billions to keep it safe. Trump said that the United States suffers from trade imbalances and that the subsidies include significant military assistance.
Trump has regularly complained about Canada and other NATO partners not contributing enough to defense spending, though it’s unclear which funds he was referring to.North American Aerospace Defense Command is another example of the military partnership between the United States and Canada.
On Tuesday evening, Trump shared a picture of the two nations with the American flag flying over them on Truth Social, captioning it, “Oh Canada!”
He recently joked that it ought to become the 51st state, and on Tuesday, he revealed that he had made a joke about being governor with Canadian hockey great Wayne Gretzky. The 10-year tenure of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ended suddenly.Monday, partly due to internal party strife over his treatment of Trump and the 25% tariffs that Trump has pledged to implement.
Trump reiterated his ambition to buy Greenland, an Arctic island that is part of Danish territory, last month, citing a strategic interest for the United States in doing so since winning the 2024 presidential election. For Trump, this is hardly a novel concept: When the idea of buying Greenland was floated during his first term in government, it was ridiculed.Donald Trump Jr., his oldest son, was on the ground Tuesday with at least two new White House officials, filming a documentary.
Well, for reasons of national security, we need more. Trump told reporters, “I’ve been told that for a long time, long before I even ran.” There are about 45,000 people there. Since we need it for national security, people should give it up even if they are unaware that Denmark has any legal claim to it. He threatened to impose “a very high level” of tariffs on Denmark if it prevented the Arctic island from pursuing independence or joining the US.
Trump invited Trump Jr. to join him for lunch on the island in a video that was shared on social media earlier in the day.
Trump asserted that Panama is breaking a contract with the United States and that the United States is treated unfairly when it is “overcharged” more for its ships to travel the canal than other nations. Trump asserted that despite China essentially seizing control of the canal, Panama has asked the US for $3 billion to assist rebuild it, cutting down on the amount of time it takes to move goods between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Returning it to U.S. sovereignty is “vital” to national security, and he has threatened to try to regain it.
Under the rules of a Carter administration treaty that transferred ownership of the canal from the United States to Panama by 1999, the United States would have the right to protect the canal from any change in its neutrality, though it is unclear what agreement Trump was referring to.
“We granted Panama access to the Panama Canal. Trump declared, “We didn’t give it to China.” “They ve abused that gift.”
The Panama Canal Authority is in charge of managing the canal, but two of its ports are run by a contractor based in Hong Kong.
In a video message last month, Panamanian President Jos Raul Mulino rejected the notion that the United States should regain control of the canal and disputed that China has any influence over it. “Every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to be so,” he stated.
During his speech, he also made fun of Mexico, stating that he would try to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring.”
He began by saying, “What a beautiful name, and it’s appropriate,” before criticizing Mexico for his lack of action to stop migration. “Mexico must cease letting millions of people enter our nation. They can halt them, and since they pass through Canada as well, we’re going to impose extremely high tariffs on both Mexico and Canada.”
Although Trump pledged during the press conference to bring the United States back to a golden age of enhanced national security and common sense, he has provided few specifics on how he may implement his promises to expand the U.S. footprint.
According to Trump, this will be America’s golden age.
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