US President-elect Donald Trump has refused to rule out the use of military force to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, and “economic force” to acquire Canada, CNN reported.

While addressing a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Tuesday (local time), Trump was asked whether he would rule out using “military or economic coercion” to achieve his goal of gaining those territories.

Advertisement

He responded, “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 should give up its control of Greenland or it would face high tariffs. He suggested people of Greenland could vote for independence or to become the part of the United States.

He said, “I’m talking about protecting the free world.”
Since his election, Trump has repeatedly expressed his interest in gaining control of the Panama Canal and Greenland. Trump for the first time on Tuesday suggested using the military to achieve his goal, according to a CNN report.
Trump said later that he would only use “economic force” and not military force against Canada. When asked whether he would also use the military to acquire Canada, Trump responded, “No, economic force.”

He continued, “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.”
In recent weeks, Trump in his social media posts has said that Canada should become the 51st state of the US. He even used Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement of his plan to step down as PM and Liberal Party leader to reiterate his stance that Canada becomes the 51st state of the US.

During the press conference on Tuesday, Trump criticised former US President Jimmy Carter’s decision to hand control of the Panama Canal back to Panama during his presidency, CNN reported. Carter, who passed away at the age of 100 on December 29, negotiated treaties that provided for the handover of the Panama Canal to Panama.

He said, “The Panama Canal is a disgrace.” Trump said, “What took place at the Panama Canal, Jimmy Carter gave it to them for USD 1 and they were supposed to treat us well.”
The US President-elect said that he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. He said, “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America — what a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.”

He slammed the Biden administration’s handling of the transition ahead of his inauguration ceremony on January 20. Trump said the Biden administration is “trying everything they can to make it more difficult” and wants to “block the reforms of the American people and that they voted for,” according to CNN.

“They say we’re going to have a smooth transition. All they do is talk. It’s all talk. Everything they do is talk, ‘We’re going to have a smooth transition.’ And then they take 625 million acres, and they essentially landmark it, so you can’t ever drill there again. Well, we’re going to be drilling soon,” he said.

Trump’s remarks come a day after US Congress certified his election victory with no objections from any lawmakers as the tally of states was announced on the House floor.
Donald Trump won 312 electoral votes while Harris got 226 votes, a total that was confirmed during the certification on Monday, marking the final step in the election process before Trump returns back to the White House on January 20, The Hill reported.

Kamala Harris presided over the process and the proceedings went off without a hitch. Several lawmakers helped in the counting, including Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Deb Fischer and Representatives – Bryan Steil and Joe Morelle. Vice President-elect JD Vance was also present in the chamber during the count.