Trump will not rule out the use of the US military to control the Panama Canal, Greenland

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday he refused to rule out using the US military to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, extending a series of recent remarks he has made about gaining more territory for the United States during his second term.

“We need them for economic security,” Trump said of the Central American trade route and the autonomous territory of Denmark, during a lengthy press conference at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.

The reporter asked Trump if he could assure the public that he would not use military or economic coercion to pursue any country.

“No, I can’t convince you of either of those two,” replied the newly elected president.

“The Panama Canal was built for our military. I’m not going to commit to that, no… You might have to do something,” he said.

Trump also expressed concern and frustration over China’s activities in the Panama Canal and Greenland, sending a possible signal to America’s powerful adversary about its own efforts to expand its global reach.

The channel is “operated by China,” he said. “We didn’t give it to China, and they abused it.”

At the same press conference, Trump announced that his administration would seek to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “American Gulf.”

“What a beautiful name. And it’s fitting,” he said.

The rich in oil is a body of water the ninth largest in the worldand it is identified on maps as the Gulf of Mexico since the 1500s.

Since winning the presidential election in November, Trump has repeatedly considered annexing territories, particularly the Panama Canal. He criticized former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29, for negotiating the agreement that ultimately gave Panama full control of the 51-mile waterway.

The Republican, who takes office in less than two weeks, has also expressed interest in making Canada the “51st country.”

But he said on Tuesday that he was considering using only economic, not military, pressure on America’s ally and major trading partner.

“That would really be something,” he said of Canada being absorbed into the United States. “Get rid of that artificially drawn line and see what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security.”

Trump complained about the US trade deficit with Canada, saying: “That’s fine to have if you’re a country, but if you’re another country, we don’t want to have that.”

Trump threatened to impose large tariffs on import from Canada, the second largest trading partner with the USA

But “there would be no tariffs” on Canada if it became a US state, Trump said in Social truth post monday. He made the comment after the stricken Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced will step down as the leader of the country.

Trump’s expansionist comments have occasionally been met with derision.

On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford jokingly issued a counteroffer for Canada will buy Alaska and other American states before he concluded: “It’s not realistic.”

And Trudeau wrote on X on Tuesday afternoon, “There is no way Canada will become part of the United States.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister, Mute Egede, openly said in December that the island “not for sale and will never be for sale.”

Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., landed in the Greenlandic capital of Nuuk on Tuesday, reportedly to create media content.

His father, ua Truth Social post the previous day, he said that Trump Jr. was there to “visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights”.

“Greenland is an amazing place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation,” Trump wrote.