Question on Greenland and Panama Canal: “Can you assure the world that as you try to get control of these areas you are not going to use military or economic coercion? Trump: “No…I can’t assure you on either of those two. We need them for economic security…”

NYT’s David Sanger: “[L]et’s start if we could with your references to Greenland and Panama canal, so forth. Can you assure the world that as you try to get control of these areas, you are not going to use military or economic coercion?”

President-Elect Trump: “No.”

Sanger: “Can you tell us what your plan is — how you’re going to negotiate a new treaty? Are you going to ask the Canadians to hold a vote? What — what is your strategy and then —”

Trump: “I can’t assure you — you’re talking about Panama and Greenland? No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security. The Panama canal was built for the military.”

Sanger: [Inaudible]

Trump: “I’m not going to commit to that. No, it may be that you have to do something. Look, the Panama canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China. China! And we gave the Panama canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China and they’ve abused it. They’ve abused that gift. It should never have been made, by the way!”

Sanger: [Inaudible]

Trump: “Giving the Panama Canal is why Jimmy Carter lost the election, in my opinion, more so maybe more so than the hostages. The hostages were a big deal, and but if you remember — and nobody wants to talk about the Panama Canal now because, you know, it’s inappropriate, I guess because it’s a bad part of the Carter legacy, but he was a good man. Look, he was a good man. I knew him a little bit and he was a very fine person, but that was a big mistake. Giving the Panama Canal to Panama [sic] was a big mistake. We lost 38,000 people. It cost us the equivalent of a trillion dollars — maybe more than that. Probably the most expensive — they say it was the most expensive structure, if we call it a structure, which I guess you can, ever built and giving that away was a horrible thing, and I believe that’s why Jimmy Carter lost the election even more so than the hostages. Those two things.”

Dana Bash is left in shock after Trump’s news conference: “Some new information about what he intends to do, or at the very least is not ruling out… including a military invasion to conquer Greenland, the Panama Canal and perhaps the annexation of the country of Canada.”

TRUMP on Canada: “Why are we supporting a country $200 billion+ a year? Our military is at their disposal — all these other things. They should be a state. That’s what I told Trudeau when he came down.”
Yeah, he was never “joking” about this.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins calls the Panama Canal Treaty — in which Jimmy Carter gave away America’s control over the Panama Canal — “one of his biggest accomplishments” as president

https://www.facebook.com/HygoNewsUSA/videos/1109607184285892
Trump can’t assure no military or economic coercion to Panama lost 38K people, Canada $200B a year