Donald Trump suggested Sunday that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal that the United States “foolishly” ceded to its Central American ally, considering that shipping companies charge “ridiculous” fees for passage through the vital transport channel that connects the Atlantic Ocean. And calm oceans.
Panama’s conservative President José Raul Molino, elected last April on a pro-business platform, has flatly rejected the idea as an affront to his country’s sovereignty.
The Republican president-elect’s comment came during his first large gathering since winning the White House on November 5. He also used his comments to enjoy his return to power to cheers from a large conservative crowd. It was a show of party unity in contrast to the just-ended budget battle on Capitol Hill in which some GOP lawmakers openly defied their leader’s demands.
Addressing supporters at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Arizona, Trump pledged that his “cabinet dream team” would deliver a thriving economy, close America’s borders, and quickly resolve the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“I can proudly announce that America’s golden age has begun,” Trump said. “There’s a spirit we have now that we didn’t have a short time ago.”
His appearance capped an enthusiastic four-day rally that attracted more than 20,000 activists and projected an image of Republican cohesion despite the turmoil in Washington last week with Trump pulling strings from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida while Congress worked to avoid forming a government. Lockdown heading into the Christmas holidays.
House Republicans reached a bipartisan agreement after Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk expressed their opposition on social media. Budget hawks scoffed at Trump’s request to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, which would have spared some new rounds of the same fight after he takes office on Jan. 20, 2025, with Republicans in narrow control of the House and Senate. The final agreement did not address the issue and there was no closure.
In his remarks in Phoenix, Trump did not mention the drama in Congress, although he did point to Musk’s growing power. In response to suggestions that “President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon,” Trump explained: “No, no. “This is not happening.”
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“He’s not going to be president,” Trump said.
The president-elect opened his speech by saying: “We want to try to bring everyone together. We will try. We’ll really give it a try. He then noted that Democrats “lost confidence” and became “confused” after the election but in the end “they will come to our side because we want them to.”
At the top of the list of grievances – some old, some new – was the Panama Canal.
“We were deceived in the Panama Canal,” he said, lamenting that his country “foolishly gave it up.”
The United States built the Panama Canal in the early 1900s, looking for ways to facilitate the passage of commercial and military ships between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on December 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 under President Jimmy Carter.
The canal relies on reservoirs to operate its locks, and was severely affected by droughts in Central America in 2023 that forced it to significantly reduce the number of daily periods for ships to transit. With the number of ships using the canal falling each day, officials have also increased the fees charged to all shipping companies to reserve a slot.
As the weather returned to normal in the final months of this year, traffic through the canal returned to normal. But prices are still expected to rise next year.
Molyneux, the president of Panama, is described as a conservative populist who allies with Trump on many issues. Panama is a staunch ally of the United States, and the canal plays a crucial role in its economy, generating about a fifth of that government’s annual revenue.
However, Trump said that once he begins his second term, “if the moral and legal principles of this generous gesture of giving are not followed, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America.” Completely, quickly and without a doubt.”
“I will not stand for it,” Trump said. “So, I ask the officials in Panama to be guided by this.”
He did not explain how this would be possible.
Shortly after Trump’s speech, Molyneux posted a video in which he declared that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong” to his country.
Without mentioning Trump by name, Molyneux addressed the president-elect’s complaints about high fees for ships crossing the canal, saying they are determined by experts who take into account operating costs and supply and demand factors.
“Tariffs were not set on a whim,” Molyneux said. He noted that Panama has expanded the canal over the years to increase ship traffic “on its own initiative,” and added that increased shipping fees help pay for the improvements.
“Panamanians may have different views on many issues,” Molino said. “But when it comes to our canal and our sovereignty, we will all be united under our Panamanian flag.”
Regardless of the channel, Trump’s appearance at Turning Point’s annual gathering underscored the growing influence that the group and its founder, Charlie Kirk, have in the conservative movement. Kirk’s organization has hired thousands of field organizers across presidential battlegrounds, helping Trump make key gains among infrequent voters and other groups of people who have turned toward more democracy in recent decades, including younger voters, Black men and Latino men.
“You had the grassroots armies of the tipping point party,” Trump said. “This is not my victory, it is your victory.”
Earlier Sunday, Trump said Stephen Meran, who worked at the Treasury Department during Trump’s first term, is his choice to lead the Council of Economic Advisers.
Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt announced he would donate $1.1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund to supplement the $14 million he said he had already given to the super PAC Make America Great Again Inc., making him one of the president-elect’s largest donors. .
Pratt is chairman of Pratt Industries, which uses recycled paper and boxes as raw materials in a process that produces new cardboard.
Weissert reported from West Palm Beach, Florida. Associated Press writer Manuel Rueda in Bogotá, Colombia, contributed to this report.
