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Donald Trump refused to refuse to use force to find Greenland or control the Panama Canal, as he vowed to name the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”.
In a freewheeling press conference less than two weeks before taking office, the US president-elect threatened to use his country’s economic and military might against traditional allies to advance national security and territorial expansion.
He was asked whether he would not include the use of military or economic pressure to obtain Greenland or to control the Panama Canal, he said: “No, I can’t guarantee you one of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security. . . We need Greenland for national security reasons. ”
At a press conference Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Trump he vowed to “charge Denmark at a very high level” unless the country gave up control of Greenland, which he wanted to buy during his first term of office.
Earlier on Tuesday Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Greenland, which is an independent part of the Danish government, was “not for sale” but stressed that he is eager to cooperate with Washington in the Arctic.
Responding to Trump’s recent comments, he added that the US was “Denmark’s most important and closest friend” and that he had “no intention of believing that we will get” to impose military or economic control over Greenland.
Trump has since 2019 sought control of the world’s largest island, which has only 56,000 people but is in the middle of the most important Arctic region.
He also argued in his press conference that the US needs control of the Panama Canal, which the country built more than 100 years ago, because of part of the canal project.
He said: “The Panama Canal is important to our country. It is used by China . . . And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, we did not give it to China.”
Panama operates the Panama Canal, not China.
On the other side of the traditional friend, Trump said that the introduction of the US into Canada “will be something else”, but it will happen with “economic power” instead of military action.
“Take away that artificially drawn line, and look at what it looks like, and it would be very good for national security. Don’t forget, we’re actually protecting Canada,” he said.
Referring to US deficits with both countries and the influx of migrants across the southern US border, Trump said he intends to hit Canada and Mexico with higher tariffs. “We’re going to put very deep tariffs on Mexico and Canada . . . and we want to get along with everyone,” he said.
He added: “We will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.” “What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.”
Trump called Mexico “a very dangerous place” that “allowed millions of people to pour into our country” and “was basically run by (drug) companies”.
Mexico is reeling from the worst homicides since 2009 and organized crime groups are expanding their power to use drugs and smuggle immigrants to steal oil and extortion. .
When Trump first proposed imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada immediately after his election in November, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum initially talked about retaliatory measures.
While the two leaders said they subsequently had a good conversation, Sheinbaum is now bracing for an onslaught of mass deportations, trade barriers and pressure for greater US involvement in the anti-corruption campaign.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded on social media that both countries benefit from being great trade and defense partners. He said: “There is not a chance in hell that Canada could become part of the United States placed to X.
Additional reporting by Richard Milne and Ilya Gridneff
