We're Back, Baby: Trump Promises 'Golden Age' for America, Demands Release of Hamas Hostages Before Inauguration
"We're approaching the dawn of America's golden age," President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday in a freewheeling press conference at Mar-a-Lago, his first public remarks since Vice President Kamala Harris certified his victory in the 2024 election.
Trump touted billions of dollars in new investments pouring into the United States beginning in November and vowed to "turn the economy around very quickly." He promised to restore America's global prestige by negotiating better deals, potentially acquiring new land, and renaming an existing territory to project strength. "We are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America," Trump said. "What a beautiful name." President Joe Biden's imminent departure, Trump predicted, would force other countries to respect the United States again. "They laugh at us because they think we're stupid," he said. "But we're not stupid anymore."
The president-elect reiterated his commitment to asserting American dominance over Greenland and the Panama Canal and declined to rule out the use of military force in pursuit of those aims. Alas, he did promise to utilize only "economic force" to impose his will on Canada. He also expressed his desire to see NHL legend Wayne Gretzky run for prime minister of the country or potentially for "governor" of America's 51st state. "Canada and the United States, that would really be something," Trump said. "You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like. And it would also be much better for national security. Don't forget, we basically protect Canada."
Trump also demanded the release of all hostages held by Hamas before his inauguration on Jan. 20. "If those hostages aren't back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East," he said. "It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone." Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, took the podium briefly and predicted "good things to announce" in the coming days.
On the home front, Trump heralded "the beginning of a great, beautiful golden age of business" based on "common sense" and promised to "immediately" overturn many of the Biden administration's onerous environmental policies. He singled out President Joe Biden's "crazy" executive order, announced Monday, to permanently ban offshore oil and gas development over 625 million acres of ocean. "Banning offshore drilling will not stand," Trump said. "We will drill, baby, drill."
Biden should "never have been even allowed to run for president," Trump said while ridiculing the outgoing administration's efforts to impose new environmental regulations in its final days, including its efforts to ban most natural gas-powered water heaters. "These people are crazy. There's something wrong with them," he said. "We're a party of common sense." Trump said he was "inheriting a very difficult situation" and "a world that's burning" thanks to Biden's incompetence.
Polls taken since the election suggest Americans are increasingly eager to see a change in leadership. Trump's favorability numbers are at an all-time high, while a majority of Americans said they expect history to regard Biden as a "poor" or "below average" president, according to a recent Gallup survey.
Above all, Trump's press conference signaled a return to the joyful vibes that defined the pre-COVID portion of his first term, a stark contrast to the national malaise that took hold under Biden. "We're going to have a lot of fun making America great again," Trump said.
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