PHOENIX (AP) 鈥� suggested Sunday that his new administration could try to regain control of the that the United States 鈥渇oolishly鈥� to its Central American ally, contending that shippers are charged 鈥渞idiculous鈥� to pass through the linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The Republican president-elect used his first major rally since winning the White House on Nov. 5 to bask in his return to power as a large audience of conservatives cheered along, a display of party unity at odds with a just-concluded on Capitol Hill where some GOP lawmakers openly defied .
Addressing supporters at Turning Point USA鈥檚 AmericaFest in Arizona, Trump pledged that his 鈥渄ream team Cabinet鈥� would deliver a booming economy, seal U.S. borders and quickly settle wars in Israel and Ukraine.
鈥淚 can proudly proclaim that the Golden Age of America is upon us,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a spirit that we have now that we didn鈥檛 have just a short while ago.鈥�
His appearance capped a four-day pep rally that drew more than 20,000 activists and projected an image of Republican cohesion despite the past week's turbulence in Washington with Trump pulling strings from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as Congress worked to avoid a government shutdown heading into the Christmas holiday.
House Republicans spiked a bipartisan deal after Trump and Elon Musk, his billionaire ally, expressed their opposition on social media. Budget hawks flouted Trump's request to raise the nation鈥檚 , which would have spared some new rounds of the same fight after he takes office Jan. 20, 2025, with Republicans holding narrow control of the House and Senate. The final agreement did not address the issue and there was no shutdown.
Trump, in his remarks in Phoenix, did not mention the congressional drama, though he did reference Musk's growing power. To suggestions that "President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon,鈥� Trump made clear, 鈥淣o, no. That鈥檚 not happening.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 not gonna be president,鈥� Trump said.
Trump opened the speech by saying that "we want to try to bring everybody together We鈥檙e going to try. We鈥檙e going to really give it a shot." Then he suggested Democrats have 鈥渓ost their confidence鈥� and are 鈥渂efuddled鈥� after the election but eventually will 鈥漜ome over to our side because we want to have them.鈥�
Atop a list of grievances 鈥� some old, some new 鈥� was the Panama Canal.
鈥淲e鈥檙e being ripped off at the Panama Canal,鈥� he said, bemoaning that his country 鈥漟oolishly gave it away.鈥�
The U.S. relinquished control of the waterway to in 1999 under a treaty signed in 1977 under President Jimmy Carter. Panama's current president, Jos茅 Ra煤l Mulino, is a conservative populist and the country is a strong U.S. ally. The canal is crucial for Panama鈥檚 economy and generates about one-fifth of that government鈥檚 annual revenue.
Mulino was expected to speak about Trump's comments later Sunday in Panama City.
The canal depends on reservoirs to operate its locks. It was heavily affected by droughts in Central America in 2023 that forced it to substantially reduce the number of daily slots for crossing ships. With fewer ships using the canal each day, administrators also increased the fees that are charged all shippers for reserving a slot.
With weather returning to normal in the later months of this year, transit on the canal has normalized. But price increases are still expected for next year.
Trump said that when he's president, 鈥淭his complete rip off" of the U.S. 鈥渨ill immediately stop.鈥� If not, he said, the waterway could 鈥渂e returned to the United States of America in full and without question.鈥�
He did not explain how that would be possible.
Trump鈥檚 appearance at Turning Point鈥檚 annual gathering affirmed the growing influence the group and its founder, , have had in the conservative movement. Kirk鈥檚 organization hired thousands of field organizers across presidential battlegrounds, helping Trump make key gains among infrequent voters and other groups of people that have trended more Democratic in recent decades, including younger voters, Black men and Latino men.
鈥漎ou had Turning Point鈥檚 grassroots armies,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not my victory, it鈥檚 your victory.鈥�
Earlier Sunday, Trump said that Stephen Miran, who worked at the Treasury Department in Trump's first term, was his choice to lead the Council of Economic Advisers.
And Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt announced he was donating $1.1 million to Trump鈥檚 inaugural fund to complement the $14 million that he said he already had given to the Make America Great Again Inc. super political action committee 鈥� making him one of the president-elect鈥檚 top donors.
Pratt is chairman of Pratt Industries, which uses recycled paper and boxes as a raw material in a process that produces new cardboard.
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Weissert reported from West Palm Beach, Florida. Associated Press writer Manuel Rueda in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.
Bill Barrow And Will Weissert, The Associated Press
