'I can't assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security,' says incoming president
US President-elect Donald Trump declined Tuesday to rule out the use of military force to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.
"I can't assure you, you're talking about Panama and Greenland. No, I can't assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security," Trump told reporters during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate. "I'm not going to commit to that."
Trump also threatened to use "high-level" tariffs to compel Denmark to sell its self-governing territory of Greenland, saying "we need Greenland for national security purposes."
"People really don't even know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up, because we need it for national security. That's for the free world. I'm talking about protecting the free world," he said.
Trump, however, ruled out using the military to force Canada into becoming the 51st US state -- a goal he has publicly touted after winning the Nov. 5 presidential election. He said that instead, he would use "economic force" to accomplish that goal.
"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. Don't forget, we basically protect Canada," he said, referring to the demarcation between the US and Canada. "We're spending hundreds of billions a year to protect it. We're spending hundreds of billions a year to take care of Canada. We lose in trade deficits."
He did not go into specifics over how he would use economic pressures to compel Canada to hand over its sovereignty in exchange for statehood. He has previously threatened to impose "very serious" sanctions on both Canada and Mexico.
"We want to get along with everybody. But, you know, it takes two to tango. We're approaching the dawn of America's golden age. It's going to be a golden age for America," he said.
Trump also said he would seek to unilaterally change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, renaming it the "Gulf of America."
"The Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate. It's appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country," he said.
