Donald Trump Escalates Threats Against Canada, Greenland and Panama; Refuses to rule out use of military

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US President-elect Donald Trump declined to rule out using military or economic coercion as he detailed plans to seek greater US influence over Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal during a press conference Tuesday.

President-elect Donald Trump walks from the podium after a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday,(AP) Trump was asked explicitly if he would make clear he wasn’t considering a military confrontation over his desire to win US control over Greenland or the Panama Canal, and responded that he was “not going to commit to that.”

“I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security,” Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

He added that the US absorbing Canada “would really be something,” addressing his concerns over US military assistance and trade deficits with its northern neighbor.

“We’ve been good neighbors, but we can’t do it forever,” Trump said.

The comments, taken as a whole, represented a remarkable willingness by the incoming president to threaten US allies with coercion if they were unwilling to bend to his demands. While the chance of an actual military conflict is remote — Trump has also championed his isolationist foreign policy and said he wanted to avoid putting US troops in harm’s way — his implicit threats could upend longstanding relationships.

Trump said he would use “high-level” tariffs to persuade Denmark to give up Greenland, which is a self-ruling territory of the country.

“People really don’t even 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 said. “That’s for the free world, I’m talking about protecting the free world.”

The remarks came after Trump earlier suggested he’d look to expand US influence in the Western Hemisphere, including by changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” escalating a feud with a major neighboring trading partner and ally.

“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory,” Trump said. “What a beautiful name and it’s appropriate,” he added.

He didn’t elaborate on how he would try to enact the renaming of the body of water.

Trump also said he would use “economic force” to compel Canada to become the 51st state in the US, a development he has repeatedly floated in recent weeks. Trump said the US subsidizes Canada and doesn’t need their products, including cars and milk.

“We basically protect Canada,” Trump said. “We’re spending hundreds of billions a year to take care of Canada. We lose in trade deficits.”

Trump did not detail how he would go about achieving that change or provide more details on his plans.

The incoming president assailed Mexico during the press conference, saying the country was taking advantage of the US in trade and was beset by massive problems, highlighting violence linked to drug gangs.

“We have a massive deficit with Mexico, and we help Mexico a lot. They’re essentially run by the cartels, and we can’t let that happen,” Trump said. “Mexico is really in trouble, a lot of trouble, very dangerous place, and we’re going to be announcing a future date. Pretty soon we’re going to change because we do most of the work there, and it’s ours.”

Trump has vowed to take a tougher stance against Mexico and Canada in his second term, threatening the countries with new tariffs if they do not do more to stem the flow of migrants and illegal drugs across US borders.

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