The President-elect of the United States spoke to reporters less than two weeks before he takes office on January 20.
The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trumpsaid Tuesday that he has not ruled out the use of military force to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, saying that U.S. control of the two territories is vital to American national security.
Speaking to reporters less than two weeks before he entered the White House, and as a delegation of aides and advisers including his son Donald Trump Jr. is at the GreenlandDonald Trump left open the possibility of using the American army to secure the two territories.
“I’m not going to commit to that,” he said when asked if he ruled out the use of the army. “You may have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital to our country”. He added: “We need Greenland for national security reasons”.
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a long-time ally of the United States and a founding member of NATO.
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders”the Danish Prime Minister had declared earlier, Mette Frederiksen.
A former colony of Denmark, Greenland obtained its autonomy in 1979, which it exercises through its Parliament. Copenhagen still exercises control over Greenland’s foreign and defense policy. A treaty with the United States, including an American base, also gives Washington a say in the defense of the territory.
Donald Trump has also proposed in recent days that Canada join the United States. He said on Tuesday that he would not use military force to achieve this and would rely on “economic strength”.
“President-elect Trump’s statements demonstrate a complete misunderstanding of what makes Canada strong. Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down from threats”declared the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, in a post on X.
A “golden age of America”, according to Trump
Promising a “Golden Age of America”Donald Trump also said he would try to rename the Gulf of Mexico “Gulf of America”claiming that this name had a “beautiful resonance”.
The Republican also took advantage of his press conference to complain about the fact that Joe Biden was, according to him, undermining his transition to power. The day before, the outgoing president took steps to ban offshore energy drilling in most federal waters. A decision that could require an act of Congress to overturn.
“I will restore the situation from day one”Donald Trump told the press. He pledged to go to court “if necessary”.