WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — First it was Canada, then the Panama Canal. Now Donald Trump wants Greenland again.
The president-elect has reiterated an unsuccessful demand during his first term for the United States to buy Greenland from Denmark, and the warring allies have been in contention since before he was inaugurated on January 20. Adding to list.
“For purposes of national security and freedom around the world, the United States feels that ownership and control of Greenland is absolutely necessary,” President Trump said Sunday in announcing his nomination for ambassador to Denmark. .
President-elect Trump suggested over the weekend that the United States could regain control of the Panama Canal unless steps are taken to ease the rising shipping costs required to use the Atlantic-Pacific waterway. In response, we are once again moving forward with plans for Greenland.
He also hinted that Canada would become the 51st state in the United States, calling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the “governor” of the “great province of Canada.”
Greenland is the world’s largest island located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. 80% of the island is covered by ice sheets and is home to a large US military base. Moute Brupp Egede, the country’s top government official who gained autonomy from Denmark in 1979, said Trump’s recent calls for U.S. rule would be as meaningless as they were during his first term. suggested.
“Greenland is ours. We are not and will never be for sale,” he said in a statement. “We must not lose the age-old fight for freedom.”
President Trump canceled his 2019 visit to Denmark after his proposal to buy Greenland was rejected by Copenhagen and ultimately wasted.
He suggested on Sunday that the United States was being “ripped off” by the Panama Canal.
“If the moral and legal principles of this generous act are not upheld, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned completely, promptly, and without question to the United States,” he said. said.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino retorted in a video that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will always belong to Panama,” but Trump responded on his social media site by saying, “Every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will always belong to Panama.” I’ll take a look!” he countered.
The president-elect also posted a photo of a U.S. flag planted in the canal zone under the words “Welcome to the American Canal!”
The United States built the canal in the early 1900s, but relinquished control to Panama on December 31, 1999 under a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
The canal relies on reservoirs that were damaged by the 2023 drought, which forced drastic reductions in daily shipping quotas. As the number of ships has declined, administrators have also increased the fees charged to shippers to reserve slots to use the canal.
The flare-up in Greenland and Panama comes after President Trump recently posted, “Canadians want Canada to be the 51st state,” and posted a photo of himself on a mountaintop overlooking the surrounding territory next to a Canadian flag. Following on from the multiple posts.
Trudeau suggested that Trump might be joking about annexing his country, but the two recently met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and sold all Canadian products. We discussed President Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on
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