"Golden age"

Canada as part of the USA? Trump continues to ignite

Trump in his lavish mansion in Florida

(Bild: AFP/Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The future US President Donald Trump has caused an uproar with statements on international politics. The Republican held out the prospect of a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the near future and announced a "golden age". He also made use of imperialist fantasies of great power.

He did not rule out using the US military to gain control of the Panama Canal or Greenland and called on NATO countries to increase their defense spending.

A meeting with Putin could take place after his inauguration on January 20, the Republican said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He could not say the exact date. "But I know Putin would like to meet."

Tight schedule for the Ukraine war
Trump also expressed the hope that the war could be over within six months. "I hope long before six months are up," he said. Trump regularly boasts about his good contacts with Putin. During the presidential election campaign, he repeatedly claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, preferably before he took office. He never revealed how.

Trump last met Zelensky at the reopening of Notre Dame.

(Bild: AFP/Ludovic MARIN)

There is great fear in Ukraine that Trump could drastically reduce US military aid for the country attacked by Russia after his swearing-in and thus hand Kiev a defeat. The USA is still Ukraine's most important supporter and largest arms supplier. There are also fears in many EU states that Trump could push through an unbalanced arrangement for a ceasefire, which could effectively make Russia and Putin look like the winners of the war of aggression.

Looking ahead to his term of office, which will begin on January 20, the 78-year-old promised at his Mar-a-Lago estate: "I'm telling you that this will be the golden age of America." The world will finally show respect for the USA again as soon as he moves back into the White House, he said.

Trump wants to subjugate Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already responded to Trump's threat to put Canada under pressure with economic constraints in order to possibly even unite the northern neighboring country with the USA.

"The likelihood of Canada becoming part of the United States is less than a snowball in hell," wrote Trudeau, who announced his resignation on Monday. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly let it be known: "Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down from threats."

Trump then published a graphic of a map on his online mouthpiece. It shows the USA and Canada, filled in with a US flag. He also wrote: "Oh Canada!" - probably alluding to the country's national anthem with the English title "O Canada".

Pardoning rioters also an issue
Capitol storm: Trump holds out the prospect of pardons Trump also addressed domestic issues in the press conference and did not rule out the possibility of pardoning supporters who took part in the violent storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 and were convicted as a result.

"People who did bad things were not prosecuted, and people who didn't even enter the building are now in prison," he criticized. "So we will look at the whole thing. But I'm going to do major pardons, yes."