Trump threatens military intervention in Panama and Greenland

DK/STA

7. 1. 2025, 20.21

Updated: 01/07/2025, 21:46

Trumpwho in the past threatened to withdraw the United States from NATO, said today in Florida that he is ready to remain in the alliance, but that the members should spend significantly more on defense. Instead of the current two percent of GDP, which member states are supposed to allocate to the military, Trump believes that the lower limit should be raised to five percent.

Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, also touched on a number of other topics, according to foreign news agencies.

Regarding the Panama Canal and Greenland, which he has said in recent weeks that he would like to see under US control, he did not rule out the possibility of military intervention, as they are needed for “economic security”. His comments follow his son’s visit today Donald Trump Jr in the Danish Arctic territory, while Copenhagen reiterated that the island is not for sale.

To fulfill the goal of annexing Canada, he said he was willing to use it “economic force”. He emphasized the importance of this as well “artificial line removal” for national security. After the announced resignation of the Canadian Prime Minister Justina Trudeauja however, in his own words, he invited the former hockey star to run for office Wayne Gretzkyj.

Canadian authorities will not allow themselves to be intimidated by Trump

In response, the Canadian authorities emphasized that they will not allow themselves to be bullied by Trump and that they will never be part of the United States. “President-elect Trump’s statements show a complete misunderstanding of Canada. Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never give in to threats,” the Canadian foreign minister emphasized on the X social network Melanie Joly. Shortly after, outgoing Prime Minister Trudeau pointed out that Canada will never, ever be part of the United States.

All hell will break loose in the Middle East

If there is no release of the Israeli hostages from Gaza before January 20, Trump threatens that hell will break out in the Middle East, which will not only be bad for the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, but for the entire region. In the light of several Israeli aggressions, the latter faces the constant threat of a wider war, as the Wall Street Journal reported in December, Trump’s team is also considering the possibility of missile attacks on Iran.

At a long press conference, Trump also warned of the danger of worsening the situation in Ukraine, for which he blamed the outgoing president’s negotiating tactics Joe Biden. He repeated that the Russian invasion would not have happened if he had been president. At the same time, he expressed his regret because he does not think it is appropriate to meet with the Russian president Vladimir Putin met before taking office, because young soldiers die every day in Ukraine.

On US domestic affairs, he reiterated his intention to lift Biden’s partial ban on offshore oil drilling. A day after his formal confirmation in Congress, he also recalled his supporters storming the Capitol in 2021 over his claims of a stolen election. As he said, he is considering a possible pardon for those who were convicted for participating in the riots.

He called the legal proceedings against him an abuse of justice

He described the legal proceedings that took place against him in the past years, when he was accused, among other things, of distorting the results of the elections, as an abuse of justice.

In response to today’s announcement by the chief executive officer of the technology company Meta Mark Zuckerbergthat from now on there will be no more fact-checking on the social networks Facebook and Instagram in the US, he agreed that he himself played a role in this by pressing Meta.