President-elect Donald Trump is prepared to use the U.S. military to reclaim the Panama Canal and take Greenland.
Trump, who vowed to take back the Panama Canal and gain control of Greenland, was asked by a reporter Tuesday if he can assure the public that he will not use military force to fulfill these promises.
“I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this. We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military,” Trump said. “I’m not gonna commit to that.”
TRUMP SAYS HE WILL CHANGE THE NAME OF GULF OF MEXICO TO ‘GULF OF AMERICA’
“It might be that you’ll have to do something. Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China — China! And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, we didn’t give it to China. And they’ve abused it. They’ve abused that gift — it should have never been made,” he continued.
Trump promised to “tariff Denmark at a very high level” if it obstructed his goal of purchasing the island, which he says the United States needs for “national security purposes.”
“You have approximately 45,000 people there. People don’t even really know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security,” Trump told the press. “That’s for the free world — I’m talking about protecting the free world.”
“You look outside, you have China ships all over the place, you have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen,” Trump continued. “And if Denmark wants to get to a conclusion — but nobody even knows if they have any right, title, or interest. The people are gonna probably vote for independence or to come into the United States.”
The internationally recognized Kingdom of Denmark is made up of three territories: Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Denmark proper.
Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede said in his annual speech that the nation should take greater control of its own diplomacy and international alliances, suggesting that deference to Denmark on international affairs has held the country back.
“Like other countries in the world, we must work to remove the obstacles to cooperation, which we can describe as the shackles of the colonial era, and move on,” Egede said.
At the same time, Egede and other high-ranking Greenlandic officials have made clear the country has no intention of joining the U.S.
That did not stop Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., from making a private trip to the island on the same day as the press conference. The president-elect’s son met with locals and phoned in his father to speak with his supporters on the island.
Following Trump’s affirmation that he is not ruling out the use of military force to take certain territories, he was pressed by another reporter on whether this posture also applies to his goal of making Canada the 51st state.
Trump clarified that he would not be open to using any military force to pressure Canada into joining the U.S., but he promised to use “economic force” if necessary.
“Canada and the United States — that would really be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like. And it would also be much better for national security,” Trump said. “Don’t forget, we basically protect Canada. But here’s the problem with Canada. So many friends up there. I love the Canadian people, but we’re spending hundreds of billions of years to protect it.”
He added, “Why are we supporting a country — $200 billion-plus a year? Our military is at their disposal, all these other things. They should be a state.”
The incoming administration has threatened to punish Canada economically if it does not adjust its financial contributions to the U.S. to a more equal level. Trump has also threatened 25% tariffs if the Canadian borders are not secured against the rampant trafficking of drugs and illegal migrants.
Trump recounted Tuesday a conversation he had with outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month: “I said, ‘What would happen if we didn’t do it?’ [and] he said, ‘Canada would dissolve. Canada wouldn’t be able to function.'”
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At the press conference, Trump also announced his intention to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
Trump will be sworn into office on Jan. 20.
