Donald Trump refused to rule out the use of force to take Greenland or control the Panama Canal as he vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”.
In a free press conference less than two weeks before taking office, the US president-elect threatened to use his country's economic and military power against traditional allies to further national security and territorial expansion.
When asked if he would rule out the use of military or economic coercion to obtain Greenland or take control of the Panama Canal, he said, “No, I can't assure you of either of those two. But I can say that we need them for economic security. . . We need Greenland for reasons of national security.”
At a news conference Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida Trump he vowed to “tariff at a very high level” on Denmark if the country did not relinquish control of Greenland, which he had tried to buy during his first term.
Earlier on Tuesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Greenland, which is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, was not “unmarketable” but she emphasized that she would like to work with Washington in the Arctic.
Responding to Trump's latest comments, she added that the U.S. is Denmark's “most important and closest ally” and that she has no “fantasy to believe that we will come” to possible military or economic pressure to gain control of Greenland.
Since 2019, Trump has been seeking control of the world's largest island, home to just 56,000 people but central to the strategically important Arctic region.
He also argued in his press conference that the US needs control of the Panama Canal, which the country built more than 100 years ago, because of the canal's strategic role.
“The Panama Canal is vital to our country,” he said. “It's run by China. . . And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, we didn't give it to China.”
In another news for a traditional ally, Trump said that a US annexation of Canada “would really be something”, but that it would be through “economic force” rather than military action.
“You get rid of that artificially drawn line and look at what it looks like, and it would also be much better for national security. Remember, we are basically protecting Canada,” he said.
Citing US deficits with both countries and the influx of migrants across the US southern border, Trump said he was prepared to hit both Canada and Mexico with higher tariffs. “We're going to put very heavy tariffs on Mexico and Canada.” . . then we want to get along with everyone,” he said.
“We are going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” he added. “What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate.”
Trump called Mexico a “very dangerous place” that “allows millions of people to flow into our country” and is “essentially controlled [drug] cartels”.
Mexico has experienced an unprecedented wave of murders since 2009, with organized crime groups expanding their reach from drug and migrant trafficking to oil theft and extortion.
When Trump initially proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada soon after his election in November, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum initially hinted at retaliation.
While the two leaders said they had a cordial conversation afterward, Sheinbaum is now bracing for an onslaught of mass deportations, trade barriers and pressure for more U.S. involvement in the fight against cartels.
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