President-elect Donald Trump has left little to the imagination in expressing his aspirations of his ‘America First’ leadership, explicitly declaring Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico should fall under the banner of the red, white and blue.
Speaking from his Mar-A-Lago estate on Tuesday, the incoming president launched into his plans to acquire Greenland by placing tariffs on Denmark at a “very high level” if it would not cede control of the world’s largest island.
He also detailed plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico, take back the Panama Canal, as he reiterated his proposal for the US to absorb Canada as its 51st state.
“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” Trump said.
“You have approximately 45,000 people there. 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.
“That’s for the free world. I’m talking about protecting the free world.”
Trump said Chinese and Russian ships were “all over the place” before declining to rule out the use of military force or economic pressures to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal.
“The Panama Canal was built for our military,” Trump said.
“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.
“They charge more for our ships than they charge for ships of other countries. They charge more for our Navy than they charge for navies of other countries.”
Control of the US-built Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, was transferred to Panama who took complete ownership of the strategic waterway on December 31, 1999.
After decades of joint ownership with America, upon the signing of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, which were ratified in 1977, the Panamanian government took complete control.
Trump called the agreement between the US and Panama a “very big mistake” and a “disgrace”.
“They laugh at us because they think was stupid, but we’re not stupid anymore,” he said.
Trump also announced his ambition to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and declared the new name had a “beautiful ring”.
“What a beautiful name,” he said.
The to-be 47th president also declared Canada should be assumed into America’s coalition of states, outlining how the US carries its neighbour militarily and financially.
“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,” he said.
“It would also be much better for national security. Don’t forget, we basically protect Canada.”
Trump said America did not need anything from Canada, but the US was losing $200 billion a year in protecting it.
“Why are we supporting a country 200 billion plus a year? Our military is at their disposal. All of these other things, they should be a state. That’s why I told Trudeau when he came down, I said, what would happen if we didn’t do it?” he said.
Trump’s claims are likely a reference to the United States’ trade deficit with Canada which was $US40.6 billion in 2023, along with its energy exports and daily crude oil purchases.
According to the United States’ government website on Foreign Assistance by country, the US has not sent more than $32 million to Canada since 2001.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Sky News on Wednesday he would not have a “running commentary” on Trump’s proposals, and would instead leave the “commentating to the commentators”.
“My job is to look after Australia’s national interest to ensure that Australia has a positive relationship on an ongoing basis with our friends in the United States, and that’s what I intend to do,” he said.
Pressed on the matter again, Mr Albanese said he would aim to strengthen Australia’s partnership with the US upon his own re-election.
“I’m confident that my government in our second term will continue to build on the foundations of our first term, where we essentially had to repair relationships around the world,” Mr Albanese said.
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Publish date : 2025-01-07 10:36:00
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