PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP on Tuesday vowed to upend the global order, promising big changes between the U.S. and its strategic partners abroad during his second term in office.
Speaking at press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump ticked through the ways he intends to rattle cages around the globe in pursuit of his “America first” agenda:
• Trump accused Panama of violating its canal treaty with the U.S. by allying with China, saying he’d cut off the money spigot to the Central American country if they don't acquiesce to his demands.
“Panama charges us more than other countries, because they think we’re stupid. Well we’re not stupid anymore,” Trump said.
The president-elect also took a shot at former President Jimmy Carter, whose body is lying in repose at the Capitol Rotunda.
"The Panama Canal is a disgrace… Jimmy Carter gave it to them for $1, and they were supposed to treat us well... The deal was they have to treat us fairly," he said. "They don’t.”
Trump has said he plans to attend Carter's state funeral this week.
• Trump has mused about buying Greenland from Denmark. Donald Trump Jr. is currently in Greenland, further stoking speculation about the idea.
Trump was asked by a reporter Tuesday if he’d promise not to use economic or military force to control 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,” Trump said.
Denmark reiterated Tuesday that Greenland is not for sale.
• Trump said he’d rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said a bill for the name change is coming “ASAP.”
• Trump has talked about making Canada the 51st state. He said Tuesday he intends to use “economic force” to make that a reality.
Canada is in a period of political turbulence, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing his resignation this week, dragged down by miserable domestic polling and an ascendant conservative faction.
Trudeau swung back at Trump over X:
"There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States," he said. "Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner."
