The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, spoke about military intervention in America and the Middle East, as well as other things he wants to do in foreign policy, during a press conference in Florida.
Trump spoke from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Tuesday, just a day after Congress confirmed his victory in November's general election. The press conference also comes just 13 days before Trump is sworn in for a second term on January 20.
The president-elect also touched on several domestic issues, promising to roll back environmental restrictions and pardoning supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
But his most important words about foreign policy. Mr. Trump described the vision of expansion, and its consequences for countries around the world.
He repeated his wish US control of the Panama CanalGreenland and Canada, while stressing that “all hell will break loose” if the captives in Gaza are not released before they take office.
In an exchange with reporters, Trump was asked whether he would rule out the use of military force or economic pressure to take control of the Panama Canal or Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory. He refused.
“I'm not committed to that,” Trump said. Then they headed for the canal, a trade route that connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. “It may be that you have to do something.” The Panama Canal is very important to our country. “
He later added, “We need Greenland for national security.”
Both Greenland and Denmark have rejected the prospect of the huge Arctic island being transferred to the US.
And the Panamanian government has also maintained that the canal will remain Panamanian, as it has been since the US left control in 1999, following an agreement negotiated by former US President Jimmy Carter.
Eyes on Canada
Mr Trump also boldly stated his intentions for Canada, one of the US's biggest business partners.
The country shares an 8,891-kilometer (5,525-mile) border with the US, and Trump in recent weeks has said it should become the US's 51st country.
But at a press conference on Tuesday, he ruled out the use of military force against Canada, which has become his closest ally – although it is not an “economic power”.
“You remove the drawn line, and you look at what it looks like, and it would be very good for national security,” Trump said, referring to the US-Canada border.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was quick to respond to the prospect on social media.
“There is not a snowball's chance in hell that Canada will become part of the United States,” Trudeau he wrote.
Meanwhile, Trump reiterated his promise to give “a lot of money” to Mexico and Canada if they don't agree to his demands to stop immigration and drug trafficking in the US.
Trump has previously threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on the two countries, despite warnings from economists that a trade war could disrupt North America's highly interconnected industries.
Referring to changing the territorial map, Trump said that the Gulf of Mexico should be called the “Gulf of America”. It has a “beautiful ring”, he laughed.
'Hell will break loose'
Trump spent much of his time discussing Israel's war on Gaza, a conflict that has killed more than 45,885 Palestinians and raised fears of a widespread crackdown on human rights.
The president-elect invited his Middle East ambassador-elect, Steve Witkoff, to the podium to give an update on the negotiations.
Witkoff, a real estate investor with no foreign experience, was part of the recent negotiations to end the war in the Middle East.
In an unexpected speech, Witkoff said: “I think we've made a lot of progress, and I'm hopeful that at the start of the event, we'll have some great things to announce on behalf of the president.”
But the president-elect took a more difficult line, focusing on the release of the remaining prisoners captured by Hamas after the October 8, 2023, attack in southern Israel. Israel says about 100 people remain in the hands of Hamas.
Trumpet he swore that “all hell will break loose” in the Middle East if Hamas does not release the prisoners by the time it takes office.
Some observers interpreted Trump's words as a threat that the US military would intervene in Gaza, a line that outgoing President Joe Biden has refused to cross, despite his support for the military in Israel.
When asked to explain what he meant at the press conference, Trump replied: “Should I explain this to you? All violence will end if the hostages do not return.”
“If they don't come back by the time I go in, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it won't be good for Hamas, and it won't be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break loose. I don't have to say anything else, but that's the way it is,” he said.
The Syrian policy
Trump responded clearly when asked about the future of the US military in Syria. The Pentagon has said that about 2,000 US personnel will remain in the country as part of the operation to stop the terrorist group ISIL (ISIS).
But questions have been raised about the long-term involvement of the US in Syria after former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in early December.
The US military has supported the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria since 2014, as the country's civil war has raged.
But the support is set Washington is at loggerheads with NATO ally Turkey, which considers members of the People's Protection Units (YPG) – the majority of SDF fighters – to be “terrorists”.
Turkey, in contrast, supported the rebel groups that defeated al-Assad.
During his first term, Trump floated the possibility of withdrawing US troops from Syria. And as recently as December, he wrote on his Truth Social platform that the US should have “nothing to do” with Syria.
But at a press conference on Tuesday, he chose to be vague about the future of US intervention in Syria.
“I won't tell you that, because it's part of the war tactics,” he said.
Instead, he praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he called “a friend” and “a very intelligent person”.
“He sent his people in there (Syria) through different guises and different names, and they went in, they took over, and that's the way it is,” Trump said.
Some analysts say Trump may be more legitimate than previous US presidents to change operations against ISIL in Turkey.
NATO pays more
Trump also took a look at NATO allies, saying that the 32 members of the transatlantic alliance should. to increase their defense costs up to 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP).
That is a significant increase from the minimum target of 2 percent.
Trump has regularly criticized union members for underpaying and has said they will leave if the money is not increased.
“They can all afford it, but they need to be at 5 percent, not 2 percent,” Trump said.
“If they are paying their debts, and if I think they are treating us fairly, the answer is I will stay with NATO,” he added. But he warned that he may withdraw his aid if he does not feel that the US is being treated fairly.
In one article, he compared NATO allies to defaulting creditors: “If you are a law breaker, we will not protect you.”
The threat comes as NATO escalates amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
Trump has maintained that the Russian attack would not have happened on his watch. On Tuesday, he also promised to deliver a speedy decision.