Speech to younger conservatives: Ukraine, Panama, Greenland and trans rights – Trump’s programmatic potpourri | EUROtoday

The future US President Donald Trump gave a key speech for his time period in workplace on Sunday (native time) in Phoenix, Nevada. At the “AmericaFest” convention for younger conservatives, he defined some factors from the election marketing campaign – and set new accents.

Unification of the nation

The president-elect opened his speech by saying that “we want to try to bring everyone together. We’ll try it. We’ll really try.” He then suggested that Democrats have “lost their trust” and are “confused” after the election, but will eventually “come to our side because we want them.”

Talks with Putin are also conceivable

Trump indicated he is willing to meet with Vladimir Putin to talk about ending the war in Ukraine sparked by Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The Russian president offered talks with Trump on Thursday, saying: “I am ready to meet if he wants it. At his annual news conference, Putin said he didn’t know when they would meet because Trump “isn’t saying anything about it” and he hasn’t spoken to the former and future president in more than four years.

Trump cited the remark during a speech on Sunday as part of his campaign promise to end fighting in Ukraine, which he said has cost the lives of “millions” of soldiers.

“President Putin said he wanted to meet with me as soon as possible. So we have to wait for that,” Trump stated. “But we have to end this war.”

He didn’t elaborate and didn’t particularly decide to assembly with Putin. Trump has downplayed the worth of the land seized from Russia and steered he can be open to a deal that may enable Russia to maintain among the seized land.

Threats in opposition to Panama

Trump has threatened to reclaim management of the Panama Canal beneath sure circumstances. “Has anyone here ever heard of the Panama Canal?” the Republican requested the viewers. “Because at the Panama Canal we are being ripped off, like everywhere else.”

Trump criticized that the canal was as soon as constructed “at enormous cost to the United States” after which “foolishly given away” by President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981). He described the transit charges charged by Panama as “ridiculous and highly unfair.”

If the U.S. will not be handled “pretty” and the “rules of this beneficiant gesture of giving should not adopted,” the U.S. would demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America “in full, expeditiously and with out query,” it said Trump. The day before, Trump had made this demand on his Truth Social platform.

In a video address to his nation, Panama’s President, José Raúl Mulino, rejected Trump’s comments – without mentioning the US president-elect by name. “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and adjacent territory belongs to Panama and will continue to do so,” Mulino said. “The sovereignty and independence of our country are non-negotiable.”

Attack on Denmark

On his social network Truth Social, Trump also announced a diplomatic bombshell on Sunday: “In the curiosity of nationwide safety and freedom on the earth, the United States of America believes that possession and management of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Greenland belongs to Denmark. The EU member had already made it clear during Trump’s first term in office that it did not want to give up the territory. That seemed to be the end of the matter.

Now the former ambassador to Sweden, Ken Howery, is supposed to take care of the matter. “As co-founder of PayPal and the venture capital fund Founders Fund, Ken has turned American innovation and technology leadership into global success stories, and that experience will be invaluable as we represent our country abroad. “Ken will do an outstanding job representing the interests of the United States,” Trump announced.

No more indigenous name for mountain in Alaska

The US president-elect also plans to reverse the renaming of the highest mountain in North America. “They took away Mount McKinley’s name,” Trump said in the speech in Phoenix. The 6,168 meter high mountain was renamed Denali in 2015 by President Barack Obama at the request of the state of Alaska to honor the traditional name of the Alaska Natives.

The renaming ended a decades-long debate. The name “Mount McKinley” commemorates the 25th US President William McKinley, who served from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. Trump’s plans have met with criticism, including from within his own ranks. “There is only one name worthy of North America’s tallest mountain: Denali – the Great,” said Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The planned renaming could reignite discussions about the recognition of indigenous cultures.

Less trans rights

Trump also announced that he would put an end to “transgender madness” on the day he takes office. The U.S. government’s official policy will be “that there are solely two genders, female and male,” he explained. “I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation and ban transgender people from the military and our schools,” Trump said.

The Republican further emphasized that he wanted to “keep men out of women’s sports.”

Transgender issues have greatly divided the United States in recent years. Democratic- and Republican-controlled states are increasingly drifting apart when it comes to their attitudes toward gender reassignment or the question of which books on the subject are allowed in libraries. Several Republican-controlled US states have already passed laws restricting medical treatment for transgender youth.

Drug cartels as terrorist organizations

In the speech given about a month before his inauguration, Trump also announced immediate measures against “migrant crime” and promised to have drug cartels classified as “terrorist organizations.”

Reconsider TikTok ban

Trump has indicated his support for the controversial social network TikTok to continue operating in the USA, at least for a certain period of time. During his election campaign, he received great support there, a “great response with billions of views, billions upon billions of views,” he said. “They confirmed me a graphic and it was a file and it was so lovely to take a look at and once I checked out it I stated, ‘Maybe we have to hold this factor for some time.'”

The Senate passed a bill in April that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the app, citing national security concerns. The US Supreme Court will hear the case. If the Supreme Court does not rule in favor of ByteDance, the app could be effectively banned in the USA on January 19th. That would be the day before Trump took office.

It was initially unclear how he could reverse the TikTok sales order. It was passed in the Senate with a large majority because of security concerns with regard to China.