Donald Trump has been threatening to take over sovereign territories and reclaim control of the Panama Canal, and sources revealed the motives for his bluster.
The president-elect has been fascinated with buying Greenland since his first term in the White House, although the autonomous Danish territory isn't for sale, in addition to apparent jokes about making Canada a state and taking back control over the crucial canal, and CNN's Alayna Treene spoke to advisers to learn what's behind his threats.
"Donald Trump's fixation this week over wanting to take control over the Panama Canal, as well as the revival of his desire to purchase Greenland, a Danish territory, is really part of a larger negotiating tactic, I'm told," Treene said. "One Trump adviser told me his interpretation of what Donald Trump has been saying this week is really that he wants to force foreign leaders to the negotiating table to bolster United States trade, but also to try and curb both Russia and China's larger influence over the global region."
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"Now, as it relates to Panama specifically, Donald Trump believes that Panama, and as it relates to the Panama Canal specifically, is taking advantage of the United States and its companies," Treene continued. "He really is pushing for a new agreement that would lower the price that different American vessels pay for passage throughout the Panama Canal. He also believes that many Chinese companies are controlling the ports around the Panama Canal, essentially giving them more control over which ships can pass through and, again, what the prices are for other countries."
"Now, as it relates to Greenland, I'm told that Donald Trump's kind of fixation on that has been about trying to curb Russia's influence in the Arctic region, and that's part of why he's continued to say that he wants to buy Greenland, even though we know that its prime minister who controls the Danish territory, has said that Greenland is not for sale, just like it wasn't for sale back in 2019 when he first floated this idea of trying to purchase the country," Treene added. "Now all to say, this is what one of the Trump advisers told me. They said, quote, 'Everything has to be looked at in terms of curbing Russia and China's influence, while also protecting the economy.'"
Treene said the former president has actually floated the possibility of renegotiating the U.S. deal with Panama over control of the canal earlier this year during his campaign.
"Donald Trump has actually been fixated on this for several months now, I'm told, and I would actually point to an August interview he did with Tucker Carlson on X where he brought this up," she reported. "He said that he believed that the former president Jimmy Carter, who negotiated this treaty to give Panama control over the canal despite it being U.S.-made, was a stupid idea. He believes that Panama is taking advantage of the United States, and that he would potentially want to negotiate some sort of different deal with Panama if he were to be elected president."
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