Less than 2 weeks before returning to the White House, US President-elect Donald Trump shared his views on a series of foreign affairs issues, from his intention to control the Panama Canal, the acquisition of Greenland to Ukraine issues and spending. NATO military goals. In his first press conference after his election was confirmed by the US Congress, he focused heavily on foreign affairs, contrary to his statements during the election, which focused heavily on domestic affairs.
Mr. Trump does not rule out using force to control the Panama and Greenland canals
Military pressure
During the above press conference, which lasted about an hour on January 7 at Mar-a-Lago resort (Florida), Mr. Trump said he “cannot guarantee” that he will not use military or economic pressure to Control of the Panama Canal and the Danish island of Greenland. “No, I can’t guarantee you about either of those things, but I can say this, we need them (the Panama and Greenland canals) for economic security,” The New Yorker said. Times quoted Mr. Trump speaking.
Mr. Trump spoke at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on January 7
The US used to control the Panama Canal, but the US government under President Jimmy Carter (in office from 1977 to 1981) signed an agreement to return this right to Panama in 1999. Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha immediately spoke out against it. . “The only hands controlling the canal are Panamanian and that will continue,” Reuters quoted the diplomat as emphasizing.
During the press conference, Mr. Trump also suggested that he would tax Denmark if the country refused to offer to buy Greenland. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark and this country has previously declared that Greenland is not for sale. “I don’t think it would be a good way to fight each other with financial means, when we are close allies and partners,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said after Mr. Trump’s press conference.
“American Gulf, Canadian state”
Following his territorial statements, Mr. Trump also said he would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the American Gulf. “It covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America – a beautiful name and this is appropriate,” he said, repeating his call for Mexico to help stop illegal immigrants at the border. Republican Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene then announced that she would introduce a bill to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. On January 7, the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives passed a bill on the deportation of undocumented immigrants if charged with a crime.
During the press conference, Mr. Trump again mentioned the idea of turning Canada into an American state, criticizing the trade deficit and military support for Ottawa. He said that the US did not benefit from those things and called the border between the two countries an “artificially drawn line”. Responding to the above statement, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said it “shows a complete lack of understanding” of what makes Canada a strong country. “Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down from threats,” she said.
President Zelensky: Peace is not a free gift, but America will stand by Ukraine
Ukraine, NATO
Regarding the Ukraine issue, Mr. Trump shared his hope to resolve the conflict in Ukraine within 6 months. “Look, Russia is losing a lot of young people and so is Ukraine. That should never happen,” according to Mr. Trump.
Regarding the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, Mr. Trump said that he sympathized with Russia’s view that Ukraine should not join. He accused President Joe Biden of changing his stance on the issue of Ukraine joining this alliance. “Then Russia has someone right on their doorstep, and I can understand their feelings about that,” according to Mr. Trump. Since the summit in Bucharest (Romania) in 2008, NATO countries have officially expressed support for Ukraine’s admission. Mr. Biden’s administration continues to support this. However, Mr. Trump’s aides and allies often object because they see it as an unnecessary provocation against Russia. As for Ukraine, leaders have tried to get the country to join NATO because they believe that will help prevent future Russian military action.
Regarding NATO activities, Mr. Trump said he would require member countries to spend more on defense than the current target of 2% of GDP. “I think NATO should spend 5%. They can absolutely do that,” he said. NATO estimates that 23/32 members will meet the target of spending 2% of GDP on defense in 2024. No country, including the US, spends at 5%. Poland is the country with the highest spending at 4.12% of GDP, followed by Estonia (3.43%) and the US (3.38%).
Facebook cancels its information-checking program
Social media company Meta Platforms on January 7 announced the cancellation of its information censorship program in the US. This will ease restrictions on controversial topics such as immigration or gender identity on Meta’s social networks. Meta will implement a “community notes” system, similar to that on billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform – allowing users to point out posts that are potentially misleading and need additional language. scene, instead of assigning responsibility to the censorship program. Meta will also stop proactively scanning for hate speech and other violations, and will only review such posts when reported by users.
According to Reuters, this is the technology giant’s biggest reform in managing political content on social networks in the context that Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg wants to mend relations with the upcoming administration of President Trump. US President-elect Donald Trump.
Tri Do
Venezuela said it arrested a group of “mercenaries” that included American citizens
Reuters reported on January 7 that Venezuelan authorities arrested seven foreign citizens that President Nicolas Maduro called “mercenaries”, including two US citizens believed to hold high positions. Speaking on national television, Mr. Maduro said the seven people mentioned above were involved in planning a “terrorist act” ahead of his inauguration on January 10.
The US State Department did not immediately comment on the above information. Earlier on January 6, US President Joe Biden welcomed opposition candidate in the Venezuelan presidential election, Mr. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, to visit the White House. The US and some countries believe that Mr. Gonzalez was the winner in the July 2024 election and that President Maduro’s re-election results were fraudulent. In related developments, Mr. Gonzalez said that his son-in-law Rafael Tudares was kidnapped on January 7 in Venezuela’s capital Caracas.
Bao Hoang
