President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday he would not rule out using “military force” to make Greenland and the Panama Canal Zone US territories.
“No, I can’t assure you on either of those two,” the incoming president told a reporter who inquired about the possibility of US military or economic coercion to acquire the disputed land.
The sparsely inhabited island is considered a key to the Arctic. Getty Images“We need them for economic security,” Trump, 78, said during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida. “It might be that you have to do something.”
The 45th president and 47th president-elect has repeatedly spoken out about his desire to get Greenland and the Panama Canal Zone under US rule since his Nov. 5 election win, but Tuesday marked the first time Trump had mused about using American forces to do so.
“We need Greenland for national security purposes. I’ve been told that for a long time, long before I even ran. I mean, people have been talking about it for a long time. 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,” Trump explained.
The world’s largest island is strategically placed in the Arctic Ocean and has received increasing interest from Russia and China in recent years.
Trump argued Tuesday that Chinese and Russian ships have made passes around Greenland, which is currently ruled by Denmark, adding that “we’re not letting that happen.”
Earlier Tuesday, Trump appeared via speakerphone before a group of Greenlanders who were meeting with soon-to-be-first son Donald Trump Jr., who was visiting the island to gather content for his contest.
The Greenland citizens who heard Trump speak appeared excited, with one shouting “Yes!” when the conversation turned to security.
However, the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland have both said the island is not up for sale, with the Copenhagen government reiterating that stance Tuesday.
President-elect Donald Trump outlined his<br>vision for the Western Hemisphere in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago
GREENLAND
He wouldn’t rule out economic or military coercion to take Greenland or the Panama Canal: “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security.”
GULF OF MEXICO
Trump said he was going to expand offshore drilling: “We are going to be changing — the opposite of Biden closing everything up and getting rid of $50 to $60 trillion worth of assets — we’ll be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring.”
CANADA
He said Canada could become the 51st state — with hockey great Wayne Gretzky as governor. “You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like. And it would also be much better for national security. They’re great, but we’re spending hundreds of billions here to protect it. We’re spending hundreds of billions a year to take care of Canada. We lose in trade deficits.”
THE PANAMA CANAL
“It’s being operated by China! China! And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama,” Trump said. “We didn’t give it to China. And they’ve abused it, they’ve abused that gift.”
Trump also slammed the late former President Jimmy Carter for giving away the Panama Canal Zone during his presidency and said he’s worried that China is controlling the waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“The Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China. China!” Trump claimed, arguing Panama “abused” the “gift” of the canal by giving it to Beijing.
He said Panama wants $3 billion to help fix the canal, but argued that they should ask China, which is “at both ends of the canal.”
While Denmark has insisted Greenland is not for sale, Trump has been pushing the issue. APIn 1977, Carter negotiated an agreement to give Panama control of the canal zone, on the condition that its operation remain neutral and not charge discriminatory fees.
The deal, which took effect in 1979, still provides the US with the right to intervene militarily if it deems the canal’s neutrality to be under threat.
Trump previously criticized the Panamanian government in December for the “exorbitant” fees it charges the US.
President Jimmy Carter relinquished US control of the canal in the 1970s. AFP via Getty Images“The Panama Canal is a disgrace. What took place at the Panama Canal?” Trump said at his presser. “Jimmy Carter gave it to them for $1 and they were supposed to treat us well. I thought it was a terrible thing to do. It was the most expensive structure ever built in the history of our country.”
Panama President José Raúl Mulino has rejected Trump’s bid to get control of the canal zone, writing on X in December that “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to Panama, and will continue to.”
The canal is one of the biggest revenue providers for Panama, with $3 billion annual entering the Central American nation’s coffers — largely from the tolls charged for ships to cross the waterway.
Toll prices have risen in the past year due to a drought and vessels have to request special time slots to pass through the canal, leading to bidding wars.
Trump is “100%” serious about acquiring both the Panama Canal Zone and Greenland, sources familiar with the president-elect’s thinking previously told The Post.
