United States President-elect Donald Trump has been greeted by thousands of supporters at his first rally speech in Arizona since winning the November election.
Trump employed his usual aggressiveness, including ratcheting up threats against Panama and sending a message to billionaire Elon Musk.
Here are some key takeaways from the 75-minute speech:
President-elect offers talk of national unity
Trump was relaxed, relishing his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, especially prevailing in the popular vote after not getting the most votes in 2016 or 2020.
He went so far as to offer talk of national unity, though with a sideways compliment to vanquished Democrats.
“We had no riots. We had no anything. It was a beautiful thing to watch,” Trump said. “They just said, ‘We lost.’ And we want to try bringing everybody together. We’re going to try. We’re going to really give it a shot.”
Trump, who likes to say that his clear but close victory was a landslide, argued: “There’s a spirit that we have now that we didn’t have just a short while ago.”
Trump adds Panama Canal to his international tough talk
Besides his “Make America Great Again” motto, Trump’s policy brand that resonates so strongly with his supporters is “America First”. It encapsulates his criticism of foreign aid, certain US military interventions overseas, and his plans to impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods.
He focused on a new target on Sunday: the Panama Canal and Panama’s government. Trump suggested he would try to regain control of the canal if Panama does not adjust passage fees that Trump insists are unfair.
He said the US is being “ripped off” and took a shot at 100-year-old former President Jimmy Carter for “foolishly” ceding control of the canal during his one White House term almost half a century ago.
Within hours, Panama’s conservative president, Jose Raul Mulino, who was elected in May on a pro-business platform, rejected the idea as an affront to his country’s sovereignty.
The move continues a run of Trump poking at foreign leaders. He recently mocked Canada as a US state and referred to Prime Minister Ju