Trump refuses to rule out military force to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal

WASHINGTON ― President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday repeatedly declined to rule out involving the U.S. military to carry out his ambitions for the U.S. to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal.

"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.

"I'm not going to commit to that," Trump said when asked specifically about ruling out military force to acquire the Panama Canal and Greenland. "It might be that you'll have to do something."

More: Donald Trump lashes out at Panama, says he might demand the country hand over canal

Trump said he is not considering military force to annex Canada ? whose longtime prime minister, Justin Trudeau resigned Monday ? but said he hopes the U.S. can acquire the neighboring country to the north through "economic force."

"Canada and the United States ? that would really be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security," Trump said.

More: Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Greenland after his father reiterates interest in the island

Trump called the Carter-era Panama Canal deal "a disgrace," accusing the Panama Canal Authority of charging more for the entry of U.S ships than other nations. He said China is effectively operating the canal.

"They charge more for our Navy than they charge for navies of other countries," Trump said. "They laugh at us because they think we're stupid, but we're not stupid anymore. So the Panama Canal is under discussion with them right now. They violated every aspect of the agreement, and it's they've morally violated it also."

Trump said the U.S. needs Greenland, which has a population of about 56,000 people, for "national security purposes." He questioned whether Denmark, which has controlled Greenland since 1814, has a "legal right" to the territory and predicted Greenland's people will vote to join the U.S. He warned that if Denmark does not give up Greenland the U.S. would "tariff Denmark at a very high level."

"The U.S. has got to draw plans for acquisition," Trump said, adding that his team is "not at that stage."

Canadian and Danish leaders quickly pushed back at Trump's comments.

"President-elect Trump’s comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country," Mélanie Joy, Canada's minister of foreign affairs, said in a statement on X. "Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats."

Trudeau was much more blunt. "There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States," the former Canadian prime minister said in a statement. "Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede "has been very, very clear ? that there is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either.”

Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived in the Greenland's capital Nuuk for a private visit Tuesday. A spokesman for the president-elect's son said Trump Jr. would not be meeting with government officials and is instead "popping in for a quick day long trip to shoot some fun video content for podcasting."

"No, I am not buying Greenland," Trump Jr. said in a podcast on Monday "Funny enough, I'm actually going on a very long personal day trip to Greenland."

Contributing: Reuters. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump won't rule out military force to acquire Greenland, Panama Canal