"No," Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago Florida home and private club when asked whether he can rule out military or economic coercion in the two locations. "No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this: We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military."
Since winning the 2024 election, Trump has openly discussed the U.S. acquiring Greenland, a mineral-rich territory controlled by Denmark, and the Panama Canal, which has been operated by Panama since 1999 following a deal orchestrated by the late President Jimmy Carter 22 years earlier. Trump has also publicly pondered the idea of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state.