President-elect Trump spoke to the media at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday, a day after Congress certified him as the winner of the November election.
The press conference comes 13 days before Trump is inaugurated, at which point he will become the only president to serve non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century.
Trump's statements were typically wide-ranging and sometimes rambling. Topics range from conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine to President Trump's longstanding complaints about windmills and showers with ineffective water streams.
Here are five takeaways from his comments.
President Trump refuses to remove military forces related to Panama Canal and Greenland
The biggest news of the day was that President Trump left the door ajar to use military force in Greenland and the Panama Canal.
President Trump has recently expressed renewed interest in the United States gaining some form of control over or absorbing Greenland for strategic reasons. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Trump also complained that the Panama Canal, a globally important waterway, was returned to Panama under terms agreed to by the late President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s. Mr. Carter passed away on December 29th at the age of 100.
Asked at a press conference if he would rule out “military or economic coercion” to take control of the two countries, Trump demurred.
“No, we need them for our economic security,” he began.
At a subsequent press conference, President Trump was asked about Canada and, perhaps mischievously, said he wanted to make Canada the “51st state.” The president-elect has ruled out the use of military force north of the border.
Later that day, outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on social media that “the chances of Canada becoming part of the United States are not snowballing.”
It's not exactly clear what to make of President Trump's implicit threats to Greenland and Canada. His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., visited Greenland on Tuesday, but it seemed more like a charm attack than a prelude to more aggressive action.
Trump angered by Biden's actions during transition period
Overall, one of the most striking things about the press conference was President-elect Trump's obvious annoyance with some of the actions President Biden has taken since the election.
President Trump seemed particularly upset about Biden's recent executive order that made about 625 million acres of U.S. waters off-limits to new drilling permits.
President Trump called the measure “untenable” and vowed to “rescind it immediately.” Citing his campaign slogan, President Trump said his most important policy as president would be “Drill, baby, drill!”
The president-elect also claimed that the current White House is funding “any project, anyone who wants it.”
President Trump also reiterated complaints he made on social media, claiming the Biden administration is making the transition period unnecessarily difficult.
“They told me they're going to do everything possible to make the transition to the new administration very smooth. They're playing on the court, so it's not going to be smooth,” he said. said.
But Trump's incoming White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, recently praised Jeff Zients, who is taking the job under the Biden administration, as “extremely helpful.”
“America Bay”
As is often the case with President Trump, one of the most memorable elements of his press conference was the most unexpected.
“We're going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name,” President Trump said. “And that's appropriate. It's appropriate.”
His proposal appears to be related to his anger at immigrants crossing the southern border. Following his remarks about renaming the Gulf, he said, “Mexico must stop the flow of millions of people into our country.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of the president-elect's most ardent supporters in Congress, posted on social media, “A bill to officially rename the Gulf of Mexico… I will submit it as soon as possible.” , the Gulf of America! ”
Good news for President Trump from outside Mar-a-Lago
President Trump's opportunity to react to breaking news came during a press conference when U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon temporarily blocked the release of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on President Trump. That's when it became clear that he had been blocking it.
What infuriated the president-elect was that Smith had filed two separate indictments. One case related to his role in the lead up to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, and the other related to classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago. After his first term ended.
Cannon is already a controversial figure, with a series of court decisions that critics accuse of being overly sympathetic to the president-elect.
Mr Cannon's delay in reporting Mr Smith is temporary.
Nevertheless, President Trump hailed the development as “great news.”
As for the report itself, he claimed, “It will be a false report, just like a false investigation.''
Smith was ultimately blocked because Trump won the 2024 election before the special counsel's case could be heard.
Multiple media organizations reported that Smith would resign before Trump's inauguration on January 20th.
A taste of what's to come
Beyond its details, the Mar-a-Lago event was a reminder of what lies ahead after Trump returns to the presidency.
The 45th president rewrote the norms of American political discourse from the beginning of his first campaign. Constant social media posts, surprise announcements and often bizarre controversies were the norm during his first term.
Tuesday was a reminder that the president-elect, now 78 years old, will not change.
There will be many similar moments over the next four years.
