President-elect Donald Trump took aim at Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal in a series of Christmas Day social media posts that suggested the United States could take control of all three.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump kicked off the lengthy posts by wishing a merry Christmas to all, “including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal.”
He referred to the American lives lost during the canal's construction more than 100 years ago and added that the United States "puts in Billions of Dollars in ‘repair’ money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about ‘anything.’”
Trump then mocked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he referred to as “governor," and suggested once again that the United States could annex Canada as its 51st state.
He wrote that "if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World."
Trump continued his post by addressing “the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for National Security purposes and, who want the U.S. to be there, and we will!”
Trump said in another post that he had encouraged former professional hockey star Wayne Gretzky to run for prime minister of Canada but that Gretzky “had no interest.”
In his posts Wednesday, Trump also mocked President Joe Biden as “a man who has absolutely no idea what he is doing” and sent season’s greetings to the “radical left lunatics.”
The posts build upon a series of messages Trump has delivered in recent weeks.
Trump has recently suggested that his administration could obtain control of the Panama Canal, criticizing the fees Panama has charged to use it.
The United States helped build the crucial shipping channel in the early 1900s and controlled it until 1977, when it entered into an agreement to eventually hand control over to Panama. The two countries shared operation of the canal until 1999, when Panama took full control of it under the agreement.
In a formal announcement from his presidential transition team Wednesday, Trump said he would nominate Kevin Marino Cabrera to be the U.S. ambassador to Panama, which he accused of “ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dream.”
Cabrera is a member of the Miami-Dade County Commission and the Miami-Dade International Trade Consortium.
Trump raised the idea of buying Greenland — which is part of Denmark — during his first term. But he showed fresh interest in the topic this week in his statement announcing his intention to nominate Ken Howery to be ambassador to Denmark.
Greenland’s prime minister, Múte Egede, rejected Trump’s comments about his country this week.
When it comes to Canada, Trump in recent weeks has also mocked Trudeau as the “governor” of Canada while warning of tariffs on the country. He also previously joked that Canada should become the 51st state. Fox News reported this month that Trump also raised the possibility directly to Trudeau during a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
