U.S. President-elect Donald Trump refused today (January 7) to rule out the possibility of using force to annex the Panama Canal and Greenland, describing both regions as “very important for the economic security of the United States.”
“I can’t give you assurances on either,” he responded when asked if he could guarantee he would not resort to military or economic coercion to bring Greenland and the Panama Canal under U.S. control, during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. “I can’t assure you of that. You’re talking about Panama and Greenland. No, I can’t guarantee anything about either of them. But I can say this—we need them for economic security.”
The 47th President of the United States also announced he would consider imposing tariffs on Denmark over the Greenland issue.
Regarding Canada and Mexico, Trump declared his intention to impose “very serious tariffs” on both nations. He also suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” “It sounds great and covers a lot of territory. Gulf of America—what a nice name,” he said, before launching into criticism of Mexico for “letting millions of people flood into our country.”
He told reporters about his plans to issue “significant pardons” to individuals convicted for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
In the press conference, the newly-elected US stated today (January 7) that NATO member countries should increase their defense budgets to 5% of their GDP.
“They can all afford it,” said the Republican billionaire, who is set to take office on January 20. “Defense spending should be at 5%, not 2%,” he asserted.
Donald Trump Jr arrived in Greenland, weeks after his father said he wanted the US to take control of the autonomous Danish territory.
