Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney explained President-elect Donald Trump’s recent threats about the U.S possibly retaking control of the Panama Canal.
“This is a negotiation,” Mulvaney said during an interview on NewsNation, reports The Hill. “By the way, one of the reasons Trump is so good at negotiating is that it’s a credible threat.
“If he says, you know, ‘Look, we’re going to have problems with Panama if they don’t lower the rates,’” Mulvaney continued, “You know, I don’t envision American troops going in to retake the canal, but you got to think that someone is out there scratching their head going, ‘Is Donald Trump crazy enough to do something like that?’
“And it’s that viable threat that sort of gives him negotiating leverage that not a lot of other folks could ever come up with,” he added.
Over the weekend, Trump called the U.S.-built Panama Canal a "vital national asset."
“A secure Panama Canal is crucial for U.S. Commerce, and rapid deployment of the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and drastically cuts shipping times to U.S. ports," he said on Truth Social. "The United States is the Number One user of the Canal, with over 70 percent of all transits heading to, or from, U.S. ports. Considered one of the Wonders of the Modern World, the Panama Canal opened for business 110 years ago, and was built at HUGE cost to the United States in lives and treasure - 38,000 American men died from infected mosquitos in the jungles during construction. Teddy Roosevelt was President of the United States at the time of its building, and understood the strength of Naval Power and Trade. When President Jimmy Carter foolishly gave it away, for One Dollar, during his term in Office, it was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else. It was likewise not given for Panama to charge the United States, its Navy, and corporations, doing business within our Country, exorbitant prices and rates of passage. Our Navy and Commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way. The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S. This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop….”
He said control of the canal must not fall "into the wrong hands."
“It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama," he 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 us, in full, and without question. To the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!”
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