President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday railed towards President Joe Biden and mused on renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” amongst a flurry of subjects in a freewheeling information convention at Mar-a-Lago lower than two weeks earlier than he takes workplace.
Trump started his remarks by asserting a $20 billion funding from DAMAC Properties, a Center-East primarily based firm, to construct new knowledge facilities throughout the USA, significantly within the Midwest and Solar Belt.
He rapidly shifted focus, nonetheless, to criticizing President Biden’s last actions earlier than leaving workplace and laying out his want to accumulate Greenland and the Panama Canal, not ruling out utilizing the army to make sure what he referred to as U.S. financial and nationwide safety.
Listed below are key takeaways from Trump’s press convention, his second since turning into president-elect.
Trump blasts Biden on transition
Trump took goal at Biden’s transfer to ban all future offshore oil and pure fuel drilling off of America’s East and West coasts.
The motion is one in every of a number of Biden acts to preempt Trump’s second-term objectives.
MORE: Biden’s move to permanently block offshore oil drilling sparks Trump’s ire
“We’re inheriting a troublesome scenario from the outgoing administration, and so they’re attempting all the pieces they’ll to make it harder,” Trump stated, contending they weren’t facilitating a “easy transition.”
On Biden’s oil drilling ban, Trump vowed: “I’ll reverse it instantly. It will be finished instantly. And we are going to drill child drill,” however that might show very troublesome as a result of the Biden ban is taken into account everlasting below the regulation and Congress would want to alter it.
PHOTO: President-elect Donald Trump makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Seaside, Florida, Jan. 7, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Trump muses on creating ‘Gulf of America’ and seizing Panama Canal
As he mentioned his want for U.S. management of Greenland and the Panama Canal, Trump mused on altering the title of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
“What a lovely title. And it is applicable. It is applicable,” he stated.
Trump stated he wished to buy Greenland in his first time period, which the island territory flatly rejected on the time. As Trump made the push again after his election win, Greenland’s prime minister famous it isn’t on the market.
Requested by a reporter if he would decide to not utilizing army pressure or financial coercion in his quest to accumulate the territories, Trump notably didn’t rule it out.
“No, I am unable to guarantee you on both of these two. However I can say this, we’d like them for financial safety,” Trump stated.
Trump additionally floated the potential for imposing tariffs “at a really excessive degree” on Denmark to accumulate Greenland, claiming Denmark may not have any “authorized proper” to Greenland. As Trump spoke, his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was in Greenland for what he claimed was a private go to.
PHOTO: President-elect Donald Trump speaks throughout a information convention at Mar-a-Lago, Jan. 7, 2024, in Palm Seaside, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Trump additionally did not mince phrases in criticizing former President Jimmy Carter, who died final week on the age of 100, for overseeing the Panama Canal Treaty that gave the Central American nation eventual management of the important waterway.
Trump referred to as Carter a “good man” however stated he believed ceding the Panama Canal is why Carter did not win a second time period. The feedback got here as Carter’s stays had been being transported from Georgia to Washington forward of his state funeral.
“That was an enormous mistake,” Trump stated of Carter’s determination on Panama.
‘All hell will get away’ if Hamas would not launch hostages by inauguration
Trump was joined at Mar-a-Lago by Steven Witkoff, who he has tapped as his particular envoy to the Center East. The 2 had been requested about ongoing efforts to safe a deal to launch the Israeli and different hostages nonetheless being held by Hamas.
“All hell will get away. If these hostages aren’t again … If they don’t seem to be again by the point I get into workplace, all hell will get away within the Center East,” Trump stated.
Requested to elaborate, Trump solely stated: “And it’ll not be good for Hamas. And it’ll not be good, frankly, for anybody.”
Witkoff indicated “actually nice progress” has been made on hostage negotiations throughout his transient remarks.
Ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel are “ongoing,” Qatari Overseas Ministry spokesperson Majid al-Ansari stated Tuesday.
PHOTO: President-elect Donald Trump listens as Steve Witkoff speaks throughout a information convention at Mar-a-Lago, Jan. 7, 2024, in Palm Seaside, Fla. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Not ruling out pardons for violent Jan. 6 rioters
Trump declined to decide to not pardoning Jan. 6 defendants who had been charged with violent offenses, together with those that attacked law enforcement officials, when requested by ABC Information Senior White Home Correspondent Selina Wang.
“Effectively, , the one one which was killed was a lovely younger woman named Ashley Babbitt,” stated Trump, once more looking for to downplay the violence that occurred as hundreds of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
MORE: Trump’s continuing effort to downplay Jan. 6 violence as ‘day of love’
Roughly 140 regulation enforcement officers had been injured throughout the riot, the DOJ has stated.
He additionally once more falsely claimed that nobody within the crowd carried firearms.
Praises finish of Fb, Instagram fact-checkers
Trump was requested for his response to Meta, which owns Fb and Instagram, asserting it’ll replace its fact-checking program with “group notes.” The transfer was introduced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday.
“I watched their information convention and I assumed it was an excellent information convention. I feel they’ve actually I feel they’ve come a great distance, Meta, Fb. I feel they’ve come a great distance. I watched it. The person was very spectacular,” Trump stated.
Requested if he believes Zuckerberg was responding to “threats” that Trump had made to him prior to now, Trump responded: “In all probability.”
Meta launched the fact-checking program after Trump’s 2016 win. Trump was banned from Fb and Instagram after the Jan. 6 Capitol siege over issues his posts had been inciting violence.
Trump won’t rule out military force to retake Panama Canal, threatens ‘all hell will break out’ over Israeli hostages initially appeared on abcnews.go.com
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