‘The United States Canal!’ Trump Trolls With AI Image After Panama President Says Control ‘Not Negotiable’
President-elect Donald Trump continued his back-and-forth over control of the Panama Canal on Sunday when he shared an image of an American flag flying over what is presumed to be the Panama Canal, in an AI-generated image from X’s Grok.
Trump is warning of Chinese influence on the canal and says Panama is charging “ridiculous: fees that are “highly unfair” to American shipping. He posted a warning on Saturday, saying the U.S. has a “vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation” of the and “will NEVER let it 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,” Trump 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.”
He doubled down on those posts with comments during his speech at a MAGA event on Sunday in Arizona, saying “we’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal, like we’re being ripped off everywhere else.”
After there was a comment from an audience member, Trump pointed to the man and said, “He just said take it back. It’s a good idea!”
Then on Sunday, President of Panama José Raúl Mulino delivered remarks in which he did not specifically mention Trump, but stated emphatically that control of the canal is sovereign and “not negotiable,” and that “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone is Panama’s and will continue to be so.”
Not long after that, Trump posted the AI image on his Truth Social account with the message: “Welcome to the United States Canal!”
Trump posted the image on Truth Social just after 5pm on Sunday. Mulino shared his video address on X about an hour and 15 minutes earlier.
The series of events somewhat mirrors Trump’s trolling of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by suggesting Canada will become the 51st U.S. state.
This story may be updated if any further comments are exchanged.
