Trump says US made ‘stupid’ mistake by abandoning Panama Canal, claims China is ‘trying to take it over’
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States should never have handed over control of the Panama Canal to Panama, accusing the Central American country of sharply increasing transit fees and claiming that China is trying to gain influence over the strategic waterway.Speaking at the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, Trump criticized the US decision to transfer control of the canal under the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties and said Washington would not allow Beijing to control the route.“The Panama Canal, so we gave it up. The first thing they did, do you know what they did? They raised ship prices four times, and they didn’t lose a single ship.
Then they raised it again twice, without losing a single ship. All they did was collect massive amounts of money for years and years. How stupid was that?” Trump said.“And now China is trying to take over the Panama Canal, and we’re not going to let that happen, okay? And that wasn’t part of the script because I don’t really have a script because this thing doesn’t work,” he added.The Panama Canal was transferred to Panama under the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties, with the country assuming full control of the waterway in 1999.
During the same event, Trump also renewed his criticism of the US Supreme Court’s handling of birthright citizenship, while praising recent rulings that he said consolidated presidential power and strengthened the merit-based system.Trump said he believed the court got it wrong on birthright citizenship, but expressed confidence that the issue would eventually be resolved.He added: “We will take care of the issue of birthright citizenship, because this was not reserved for rich people from other countries.
It was intended for the children of slaves. If you look at it, it was a month after the Civil War ended. This is because it was intended for the children of slaves. It was not intended for the wealthy people of China. “They came in Gulfstreams,” Trump said.He added: “I think, no, I know they made a mistake, but that’s okay.”Trump also welcomed a recent Supreme Court ruling that he said restored significant powers to the presidency.
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the president’s power to remove leaders of executive branch agencies, overturning a 91-year-old precedent that had limited the president’s power to remove Senate-appointed officials.“You know, a short while ago, not in yesterday’s decisions where we actually had a good day except for birthright citizenship, we had something that gave back tremendous power to the president of the United States, and I think we won that 6 to 3,” he said.“It was taken from another Roosevelt. It was taken from another Roosevelt in 1932. And for almost a hundred years, this case was up for grabs. It was called the massacre case, and a lot of people didn’t think it would ever be won. We won it two days ago in the Supreme Court,” Trump said.“It returns power to the president at a time when the president really needs power. This was the most important decision of all, I think,” he added.
