All posts tagged "panama canal"

Panama president hits back at Trump and 'rejects' inaugural speech 'in its entirety'

The president of Panama has formally complained to the United Nations about President Donald Trump's "threats" to acquire the Panama Canal.

The New York Times reviewed the letter sent by José Raúl Mulino to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres and the U.N. Security Council on Monday. In it, Mulino wrote that on behalf of his country and people, “I must reject in its entirety the words expressed by President Donald Trump regarding Panama and its Canal in his inaugural address.”

Mulino continued, “The canal is and will continue to be Panama’s.”

The U.S. built the canal in the early 20th century. The late President Jimmy Carter negotiated the Torrijos–Carter Treaties in 1977, which gave full control to Panama in 1999.

During his address on Monday, Trump declared that the Canal had "foolishly" been given to Panama.

ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration

"We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made and Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged, charged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form. And that includes the United States Navy and above all, China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama and we’re taking it back."

Trump has repeatedly claimed that China controls the canal, which Mulino has repeatedly refuted, saying, "Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zones is part of Panama, and it will continue to be.”

At a speech Trump gave at Mar-a-Lago this month, the now-U.S. president refused to rule out using military force to retake the canal, saying somewhat ambiguously, “It might be that you’ll have to do something."

According to The New York Times, Mulino's letter "cited two articles of the U.N. charter that prohibit member states from using threats and force against 'the territorial integrity or political independence,' calling such actions inconsistent with the purpose of the United Nations, and suggesting that Mr. Trump’s statements violated the U.N. charter."

The Times reported that it was possible the UN Security Council would schedule a meeting to discuss the issue "if tensions between the United States and Panama persist."

Read The New York Times article here.

China will likely 'pop the champagne' after Trump's latest 'absolute lies': House Dem

CNN's Jim Acosta wondered aloud whether Donald Trump's threats to take the Panama Canal, by force if necessary, sent a dangerous message to U.S. adversaries like China.

China has long threatened to invade the disputed territory of Taiwan, just as Russia did with Crimea and is trying to do with Ukraine.

During his inaugural speech Monday, Trump claimed, "We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape, or form. And that includes the United States Navy. And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back."

Acosta pondered on Tuesday's morning show, "If the president can say, 'We're going to go take the Panama Canal,' I mean, couldn't China say, 'Okay, well, then, I guess that means we can take Taiwan?'"

ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration

Rep. Jim Hines (D-CT) responded, "Look, I think China is sophisticated enough to see exactly what President Trump is doing, which is a game of distraction, away from the issues that really matter to the American people."

Hines continued, "I look at polling every once in a while and I can tell you that Panama or the name of Mount Denali, is not on the top 50 list of American concerns. So, the Chinese understand that this is a distraction mechanism. And, I think they're probably happy that now Panama, which is a critical ally — we've got military in Panama, the Canal is really pretty important to us — now they've been subjected to, as you pointed out, a series of lies — that we've been treated badly, that the Chinese run — absolute lies. and the Chinese are saying, 'You know what? The president Trump is gratuitously, for no apparent reason, damaging American relationships with critical allies. Pop the champagne, folks in Beijing!' That's what they're thinking."

CNN.com estimated that it would take around 90,000 U.S. troops to take the Panama Canal by force, and such an operation would require a congressional resolution in order to proceed. It would also disrupt global trade, since "around 6% of global trade passes through the canal."

'Answer my question!' CNN anchor dogs Republican trying to parrot Trump talking points

CNN's Brianna Keilar wouldn't let up when freshman Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) touted Donald Trump's new age of "Manifest Destiny" but failed to directly answer questions about how it would help the U.S. economy.

Gill was mid-sentence explaining why acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal was vital to American interests when Keilar interrupted.

"But, can you answer my question? Can you answer my question? I'm asking you a question about the economy because that really, if he does have a mandate, that's so much what it's about," Keilar said.

"You know, I think it's hilarious that Democrats spent four years telling us that the economy was in the greatest shape of our lives, telling Americans to not believe the evidence of their eyes and ears, not believe their pocketbooks that they were looking at at the end of every week and trying to force Americans to believe that we were in a booming economy, and now all of a sudden, Democrats are obsessed with bringing inflation down and inflation, not long ago, they said, didn't exist," Gill said.

"I understand your frustration with Democrats, but looking forward here, as Republicans will be controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, how does something like acquiring the Panama Canal, Greenland? How is that going to help economically? I hear you saying there are geopolitical advantages maybe you can make more of a case there, but how is this going to help everyday Americans?" Keilar pressed.

ALSO READ: Trump intel advisor Devin Nunes still dismisses Russian election meddling as a 'hoax'

Gill pivoted to the southern Border and the Laken Riley Act, before stating, "I think that the people of Panama, I think that the people of Greenland, I think that the people of Canada, for that matter, should be honored that President Trump wants to bring these territories under the American fold."

"Okay, they don't seem honored, just to be clear," Keilar said, adding,"Do you support Americans fighting, which always means potentially dying, for the U.S. to acquire Greenland or the Panama Canal?"

Gill said he would "leave the methodology to President Trump and follow his lead here" regarding military intervention before he shifted to talking about war in Ukraine.

Keilar interrupted, "Can you answer my question please? Can you -- I'm talking about American lives, Congressman. I'm talking about --"

"All of a sudden you're concerned about people dying in wars whenever a weak foreign policy under President Joe Biden is the reason that that the entire world has erupted in chaos," Gill shot back.

"My concern, congressman, and people dying in wars is not sudden, and it is earnest, and so when you're talking about the possibility of Americans as we are here, can you please answer my question?"

Watch the clip below via CNN.

'Isn't it amazing?' Tomi Lahren marvels at Trump's ability to speak 'off-prompter'

Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren gushed over President-elect Donald Trump's Palm Beach press conference Tuesday that many on X considered to have gone off the rails.

Trump kicked-started the presser by announcing a "$20 billion investment in the U.S. from DAMAC Properties, a Middle East-based company."

The President-elect, who takes office in less than two weeks, then made eyebrow-raising pronouncements, from declaring that the Gulf of Mexico should be renamed the "Gulf of America", to claiming that the U.S. would take over Greenland and the Panama Canal. Trump even questioned the results of the election he won, incorrectly claiming, "they're still counting" the votes "in some areas. Can you believe this? What a place. What a horrible place," he said about the country he'll be leading once again.

ALSO READ: Trump intel advisor Devin Nunes still dismisses Russian election meddling as a 'hoax'

Lahren, a MAGA acolyte who is a regular Fox News contributor and the host of Tomi Lahren is Fearless on OutKick.com, posted to X, "Isn’t it amazing listening to a president who can actually stand AND speak OFF prompter for more than 5 mins without taking a nap or slurring words beyond recognition?!!!"

Her dig was directed at President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the 2024 election after a disastrous debate, during which he stumbled over his words.

Others on X weren't quite as magnanimous in their assessment of Trump's performance. Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) wrote, "Remember America, this election was about the price of eggs or something like that."

Political insider "AngryStaffer" posted, "Dear god, this presser is bats--t even for Trump."

Former Clinton White House official Robert Reich posted, "Get ready for four years of rambling and outrageous lies. But don't let the absurdity distract you from the real goal of Trump 2.0: the continued consolidation of wealth & power into the hands of oligarchs. They want you to be so outraged that you tune out. Do not."

All posts tagged "panama canal"

Panama president hits back at Trump and 'rejects' inaugural speech 'in its entirety'

China will likely 'pop the champagne' after Trump's latest 'absolute lies': House Dem

'Answer my question!' CNN anchor dogs Republican trying to parrot Trump talking points

'Isn't it amazing?' Tomi Lahren marvels at Trump's ability to speak 'off-prompter'

Former Panama strongman Noriega heads home to prison