Trump Mentions Panama Canal, Cites T. Roosevelt, Vows to Prevent Chinese Takeover

(CNA North Dakota Medora, July 1 -- Reuters, NBC News) U.S. President Donald Trump, attending the unveiling ceremony for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library today, mentioned the Panama Canal, which was spearheaded by former President Theodore Roosevelt, and stated that the United States will not allow China to take over the Panama Canal.

According to reports from foreign media including Reuters and NBC News, Trump visited Medora, North Dakota today to attend the unveiling ceremony for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. In his speech, he called Theodore Roosevelt "a man I have long admired" and mentioned the Panama Canal, which was spearheaded by Theodore Roosevelt and opened in 1914.

This vital waterway was later transferred to Panama on December 31, 1999, according to a treaty signed by then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1977.

Trump stated today that the Panama Canal had been very successful from day one, "but we gave it away."

He said the canal was "the most expensive thing we ever built, and the most profitable thing we ever built... and we gave it away."

He added that the first thing the recipient did after receiving it was "raise the ship tolls 4 times. And they didn't lose a single ship. Then they raised them two more times, and they didn't lose a single ship. And they've just been making a fortune over there all these years."

He continued, stating that now, "China is trying to take over the Panama Canal, and we will never let that happen."

Trump acknowledged that this statement was not in his prepared remarks, "because I don't really have prepared remarks."

He then revealed that he had discussed the Panama Canal with an artificial intelligence (AI) hologram of Theodore Roosevelt in the new library, asking, "What do you think about the Panama Canal? Was that your greatest achievement?"

According to The Independent, the AI version of Theodore Roosevelt responded to Trump's question by saying the Panama Canal was "one of my proudest achievements." However, he also cautioned that "the biggest and most visible projects are not always the most important."

The AI president stated that he measures the "greatest work" by how many lives it improves, and also mentioned his domestic achievements such as expanding national parks, strengthening food and drug safety, and his "Square Deal" policies, which partially focused on corporate regulation.

After winning his second term as president, Trump has frequently mentioned the Panama Canal and has threatened to use force to regain control.

Trump also touched on the Iran war and military operations in Venezuela today, drawing parallels between these situations and the Panama Canal. (Compiled by Tsai Chia-min) 1150702

Stand with facts, your every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom.

Download the CNA "One-Stop News" APP to get the latest news in real-time.

Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.