Palm Beach (TDI): Donald Trump threatened economic force against neighbouring Canada and military action to secure the Panama Canal in a meandering media conference on Tuesday, a day after Congress certified his election victory.
The US president-elect had gathered journalists in southern Florida to announce a 20 billion dollars Emirati investment in US technology, but his remarks quickly became a rally-style rant as he returned at length to many of his election campaign themes.
“Since our election victory, the global perception has changed. People from other nations have called me. They said, ‘Thank you, thank you’,” Trump said as he presented his agenda for the coming four years.
But the president-elect criticized President Joe Biden over the transition, claiming that the White House was “trying everything they can to make it more difficult”.
Also Read: Trump Threatens to Retake Panama Canal
Trump has not acknowledged his 2020 defeat and refused to participate in the transfer of power to Biden.
On the global stage, Trump announced he was planning to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and threatened the United States’ southern neighbour with massive tariffs if it does not stop illegal entries across the border.
Also Read: ‘Great Nation’ Possible If Canada Becomes 51st State: Trump
He refused to rule out using the military to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal, repeating his criticism of the move to allow local control of the Central American waterway by then-president Jimmy Carter, who died in December.
When asked about using military force to pressure Canada, Trump replied, “No, economic force”.
Trump Criticizes Biden Over US Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Trump criticized President Joe Biden over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and his foreign policy in Ukraine and Syria, repeating a familiar false claim that the United States “had no wars” in his first term, according to AFP.
“We defeated ISIS. We had no wars. Now I’m going into a world that’s burning with Russia and Ukraine and Israel,” Trump said.
Much of the event was focused on criticism of Joe Biden, whom the incoming president baselessly accused of being behind several legal challenges he faces, including the possible release of a federal report into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and sentencing set for Friday in hush money case against him.
