The President-elect is also making waves for saying that the United States must "retake" control of the Panama Canal. At a rally in Arizona on Sunday, Trump claimed that the canal's 1999 handover to Panama under the terms of an agreement signed by President Jimmy Carter was a "terrible mistake" and argued that the US must act to stop being “ripped off” by Panama and thwart the influence of China in the region.
The Panama Canal, built and managed by the US for decades, handles 2.5% of global ocean traffic, facilitating US imports from Asia and exports of key commodities including LNG.
At the same rally, Trump addressed chatter about Elon Musk usurping the US presidency. Last week, Musk had unsuccessfully attempted to sway Republican members of Congress to oppose US President Joe Biden’s latest spending bill, prompting fears of a government shutdown and accusations that Musk was acting like the President instead of an unelected advisor.
On Sunday, Trump joked that the South African native “is not going to be president. That I can tell you. I’m safe. You know why? He can’t be. He wasn’t born in this country.”
