Trump, border czar Tom Homan on immigration and U.S. Mexico relations
Donald Trump and his incoming border czar Tom Homan discuss U.S. relations with Mexico and their immigration plan at Turning Point’s AmericaFest.
President-elect Donald Trump floated reclaiming the Panama Canal and renaming a mountain in Alaska during a wide-ranging speech in Arizona.
Trump also said Sunday that he’ll ban transgender surgery for minors and would consider trying to save the Chinese social media giant TikTok in the U.S. during remarks in downtown Phoenix that lasted nearly 90 minutes.
Trump was in Arizona to address AmericaFest, an annual convention hosted by the conservative groups Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action.
Though Trump played the hits, promising to shut down illegal immigration and increase oil drilling when he takes office on Jan. 20, he added a few new points to his speeches.
Trump, speaking at the Phoenix Convention Center, said his appearance was his way of thanking Arizona for his presidential election victory in the state a month ago.
What Trump said about the Panama Canal
After sparring with Canada and Mexico during his presidential transition, Trump is turning his attention to Panama. He raised concerns about Chinese influence on the Panama Canal, the waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The U.S. took over building the canal in the early 1900s and controlled it for decades until it was transferred to Panama during former President Jimmy Carter’s administration.
President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos signed the Panama Canal Treaty on Sept. 7, 1977.
Trump posted about reclaiming the Panama Canal on Truth Social on Saturday and doubled down on the idea during his Sunday speech.
“We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal,” Trump said. “If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in full, quickly and without question.”
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino denounced Trump’s comments.
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue belonging (to Panama),” Mulino said in a statement released on X.
Ban transgender surgery for minors
Trump laid out his Day One agenda to address transgender issues, telling the crowd that he’ll stop what he called “transgender lunacy” with the stroke of his presidential pen.
“On Day One we’re going to stop the transgender lunacy. And I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high school,” Trump said. “And we will keep men out of women’s sports. That will likewise be done on Day One.”
The incoming president also said he’d make it the “official policy of the U.S. government that there are only two genders” on his first day in office.
Some government agencies acknowledge more than two genders, while others do not. The options for the gender marker on a U.S. passport, for example, are male, female or “X,” which stands for an unspecified or other gender identity. Social Security, on the other hand, requires a sex designation of female or male but can be changed.
Save TikTok in the United States?
As TikTok waits to hear whether the Supreme Court will knock down a new law that could ban the platform in the U.S., Trump weighed in on the controversy.
He pointed to his gains with young voters in the most recent election and said it was due in part to the “billions” of views he received on the Chinese social media site.
He said he may consider trying to save the popular social media platform from being banned in the U.S. “I’m gonna have to start thinking about TikTok,” Trump said. “Maybe we gotta keep this sucker around.”
Congress passed legislation requiring TikTok to be sold or face a ban in the U.S. The Supreme Court will hear the company’s challenge to the new rule in early January.
Restore Denali to Mount McKinley
Trump appears to have a soft spot for late President William McKinley, who had a penchant for tariffs and was assassinated in 1901.
With that in mind, Trump pledged to restore the name of the highest peak in North America from “Denali” to “Mount McKinley.” The Alaskan mountain, at the heart of Denali National Park and Preserve, was renamed during the Obama administration.
“McKinley was a very good, maybe a great president. They took his name off Mount McKinley, right? That’s what they do to people,” Trump said. “President McKinley was the president that was responsible for creating a vast sum of money for the United States that Teddy Roosevelt then spent. So let’s say they were both excellent presidents, but McKinley did that, and that’s one of the reasons that we’re going to bring back the name of Mount McKinley because I think he deserves it.”
Denali was renamed in 2015 to the mountain’s traditional name among Alaska Native peoples.
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Publish date : 2024-12-22 23:04:00
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Publish date : 2024-12-23 18:42:29
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