Trump will not rule out force to take the Panama Canal, Greenland By Reuters

By Steve Holland and Joseph Axe

PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump refused on Tuesday to rule out the use of military or economic action to pursue the purchase of the Panama Canal and Greenland, part of a broader expansionist agenda that he has promoted since the November 5 victory. election

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has also floated the idea of ​​turning Canada into a U.S. state, saying he would demand much higher defense spending from NATO allies. and promised to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Just two weeks after taking office, Trump has begun to outline an aggressive foreign policy with little regard for diplomatic considerations or the concerns of US allies.

Asked at a press conference at his Florida resort if he could assure the world that he would not use military or economic coercion as he tries to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, Trump said: “No, I can’t assure you of those two, but I can say this, we need it for economic security.”

Trump criticized American spending on Canadian goods and military support for Canada, saying the United States would not benefit from doing so, and called the border between the two countries an “artificially drawn line.”

He suggested he would impose tariffs on Denmark if it resists its offer to buy Greenland, which he said is vital to US national security. Shortly before Trump’s comments, his son Don Jr. he came to Greenland for a private visit.

Denmark has said that Greenland, a self-governing part of its kingdom, is not for sale.

“I don’t think it’s a good way to fight each other with financial means when we are close allies and partners,” Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen said late Tuesday in response to Trump’s comments .

CANADA SAYS: “WE WILL NEVER CHANGE FAIL”

Canada’s foreign minister, Melanie Joly, told X: “President-elect Trump’s comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country. Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We never retreat in the face of threats.”

Panama’s top diplomat also pushed back on the incoming US leader’s threat to take over the key global waterway, which the US had built and owned before handing over control to the Central American nation in 1999.

“The only hands that control the canal are Panamanians and so it will continue to be,” Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha told reporters on Tuesday.

Ambassador Daniel Fried, a retired US diplomat now with the Atlantic Council think tank, said Trump’s comments painted a picture of national power as territorial expansion and compared him to a “19th century imperialist “.

The president of Russia, Fried said, “destroying Greenland, because it will not make us any different than Vladimir Putin.”

Trump’s promise to rename the Gulf of Mexico echoes his previous vow to return the name of Denali, the highest mountain in North America, to Mount McKinley. Former President Barack Obama renamed the Alaskan mountain in deference to Native Americans.

Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who is expected to play a key role in US-Mexico trade issues, appeared to reject Trump’s call to rename the joint body of water after Tuesday.

“Today I will tell you that if we see it in 30 years, the Gulf of Mexico will still be called the Gulf of Mexico,” he said, adding that the Mexican government would not be drawn into the debate.

Typically, the United States Board on Geographic Names establishes geographic names, although presidents have also renamed geographic features through executive action.

SPENT BORN

Trump has said that NATO members must spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense, a significant increase from the current target of 2%.

“I think NATO should have 5%,” he said. “Everyone can afford it, but it should be at 5%, not 2%.”

Trump has often complained that most NATO members don’t pay their fair share, and he floated demands for an increase in NATO defense contributions during the campaign.

NATO estimated that 23 of its 32 members would meet their goal of spending 2% of GDP by 2024.

None of the alliance’s members, including the United States, currently spends 5% of GDP on defense, according to NATO figures. Poland is the highest spender in terms of GDP at 4.12%, followed by Estonia at 3.43% and the United States at 3.38%.

Trump also repeated his threat that “all hell will break loose in the Middle East” if the Palestinian militants of Hamas do not release when he takes the hostages kidnapped by Israel on October 7, 2023, and still keep them in the Strip of Gaza.

“It’s not going to be good for Hamas, and it’s not going to be good, frankly, for anybody,” he said.

His Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told reporters he hopes to have good things to report on the negotiations between Israel and Hamas by the time Trump is sworn into office.

BIG FAMILY

The free-wheeling, hour-long news conference, Trump’s second since his victory, echoed similar events during his presidential campaign.

He aired a series of familiar complaints about his criminal charges, including an attack on Judge Juan Merchan, the New York judge who is expected to sentence Trump on Friday for falsifying business records in connection with the payments hush money to a porn star.

A New York appeals court denied his latest bid to stay the sentence shortly after his press conference ended.

Separately, as Trump spoke, a US judge temporarily blocked Special Counsel Jack Smith from releasing a report on his investigations into Trump’s alleged manipulation of classified documents and attempts to overturn the US presidential election. 2020.

The judge, Aileen Cannon, had previously dismissed the case accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified materials after he left office.

Tuesday’s event took place in the ornate living room at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach resort. Several senior advisers to Trump watched the proceedings, while guests of the club can be seen outside having lunch on the terrace.

Trump was also asked if it was appropriate for Elon Musk to publicly weigh in on foreign affairs. In recent weeks, the billionaire Trump ally has used his X platform to comment on European politics, including expressing support for Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany.

“I can tell Elon is doing a good job, a very smart guy,” Trump said. “I don’t know the people you’re talking about.”