The president-elect commented on issues including pardons, investment, and Greenland.
President-elect Donald Trump spoke on a range of issues Tuesday at a press conference held at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, including pardons for Jan. 6 defendants, foreign investment, his classified documents case, and more.
The president-elect held the news conference just 13 days before his inauguration.
Comments on Greenland, Panama Canal
As his son, Donald Trump Jr., visits Greenland this week, the president-elect discussed his wish for the United States to control the Panama Canal and Greenland. He also joked about naming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” which he said would be “appropriate” and “beautiful.”
It isn’t the first time Trump has suggested renaming a geographic site. The president-elect weeks ago announced he would rename Denali, the tallest mountain in the United States, back to Mt. McKinley.
Trump signaled the possibility of placing a “very high level” of tariffs on Denmark in a bid for the United States to acquire Greenland, the world’s largest island largely located above the Arctic Circle. Greenland, home to a large U.S. military base, is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally and a founding member of NATO.
“You have approximately 45,000 people there. People really don’t even know that Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security,” he told reporters.
Regarding the Panama Canal, which the U.S. government built but handed over to the Panamanian government under the Carter administration decades ago, Trump did not rule out using military force to acquire the waterway.
“I’m not going to commit to that,” Trump said, when asked if he would rule out the use of the military. “It might be that you’ll have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital to our country.”
“We gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China,” Trump said. “They’ve abused that gift.”
Touts $20 Billion Investment
The president confirmed a $20 billion foreign investment to construct U.S. data centers by billionaire Hussain Sajwani, an Emirati developer. He’s pledging “at least” that amount for construction across the United States.
