Topline
President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. should seek to gain control of Greenland for national security reasons and threatened to take over the Panama Canal by force, marking the latest in a series of controversial foreign policy remarks Trump has made about allied nations.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in Phoenix.
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Key Facts
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced he had picked Paypal co-founder Ken Howery to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to Denmark and wrote: “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
The Danish government has yet to react to Trump’s comments and Howery has simply said he looks forward to working with the teams at the “U.S. Embassy Copenhagen and U.S. Consulate Nuuk in Greenland to deepen the bonds between our countries.”
While speaking at a Turning Point USA event in Phoeniz on Sunday, Trump reiterated his complaints about “highly unfair” fees being charged by Panama for ships passing through the Panama Canal and said the U.S. was being “ripped off.”
The canal was under U.S. control until 1977, before it was handed over to Panama, but Trump said he would demand the “Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question,” unless the Panamanian government met its “moral and legal” requirements.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, dismissed the suggestion in a video message saying: “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to PANAMA, and will continue to be.”
Trump responded to this in a Truth Social saying, “We’ll see about that,” and posted a photo of the U.S. flag over the canal with the text “Welcome to the United States Canal!”
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What Has Trump Said About The Panama Canal Recently?
In a couple of posts over the weekend, Trump lashed out at the “exorbitant prices and rates of passage” placed on U.S. Naval and merchant vessels passing through the Panama Canal. Trump then mocked former President Jimmy Carter for “foolishly” giving away the canal to Panama for “One Dollar” during his term in office before accusing the Panamanian government of allowing China to manage it. Trump said the U.S. has a “vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal” and would “NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands!”
What Has Trump Said About Greenland In The Past?
During his first term, Trump reportedly pushed the idea of buying Greenland from the Danish government. According to a 2019 report by the Wall Street Journal, Trump brought up the proposal with “varying degrees of seriousness” with his advisers. He would also listen with great interest whenever Greenland’s natural resources and geopolitical importance were brought up. At the time, Trump’s purported interest was dismissed by Danish authorities, with the country’s former Prime Minister and current foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen tweeting: “It must be an April Fool’s Day joke … but totally out of season.”
Crucial Quote
“The Canal has no control, direct or indirect, neither from China, nor from the European Community, nor from the United States or any other power. As a Panamanian, I strongly reject any manifestation that distorts this reality. And it will continue to be in Panamanian hands as the inalienable heritage of our Nation and guaranteeing its use for the peaceful and uninterrupted transit of ships of all nations, as established by our Constitution and the Neutrality Treaty,” Mulino’s statement added.
Further Reading
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