Trump delivers first rally-style speech since election win as he threatens to retake Panama Canal: Live

The former chairman of the Republican Party turned the tables on Donald Trump’s long-running criticism of Joe Biden and suggested it’s now the president-elect who may be “too old” to hold his own — especially against his new “best buddy” Elon Musk.

Michael Steele hit out amid lawmakers’ harsh rebukes of Trump after the tech billionaire appeared to play a major role earlier this week via X to kill the first bipartisan stopgap government funding deal floated by Republican House speaker Mike Johnson.

Trump issued a statement agreeing with his billionaire backer only after Musk launched the initial attacks, leading some to mock Trump as Musk’s obsequious vice president.

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Donald Trump also once again threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal.

“We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else,” he said.

The canal would help with “rapid deployment” of the Navy, he said, adding that the fees being charged by Panama are “ridiculous, highly unfair.”

He repeated the same claim that he wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday: former President Jimmy Carter “foolishly gave it away for one dollar.”

Read more about Trump’s threats to retake the Panama Canal here:

“The golden age of America is upon us!” Trump declared.

He praised the post-election stock market, “small business optimism,” and a surge in bitcoin.

Trump also said he informed Mexico and Canada that they have to “stop pouring illegal drugs and aliens into our country,” he said. The president-elect has threatened to impose hefty tariffs on the neighboring countries if they don’t stop the flow of drugs and migrants into the U.S.

Trump then said the European Union has “treated us very badly,” saying they don’t take our agricultural products or cars but “we take ours.”

We’re not going to let the E.U. turn the U.S. into a “dumping ground,” the president-elect continued.

Earlier this week, threatened to levy tariffs against the E.U. in a Truth Social post: “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way.”

The 78-year-old Republican walked through a cloud of smoke as he stepped onto the AmericaFest stage as Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” blared.

The red MAGA cap-wearing crowd cheered and chanted “USA! USA!” as Trump approached the microphone.

His 2024 election victory “really was one of the great political victories in the history of our country,” he said.

“If I didn’t know that we won in 2020, I wouldn’t have done this,” he said, repeating claims of 2020 election fraud.

The president-elect will step onto the Phoenix stage momentarily.

You can watch Donald Trump’s first rally-style speech since he won the 2024 election here:

The president-elect announced on Truth Social on Sunday that Stephen Miran would serve as the chair of his Council of Economic Advisers.

Miran was a senior advisor for economic policy at the Treasury Department during Trump’s first term. He is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

“I am pleased to announce that I will nominate Stephen Miran to be the Chairman of my Council of Economic Advisers. Steve will work with the rest of my Economic Team to deliver a Great Economic Boom that lifts up all Americans. Steve was a Senior Advisor for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department during my First Term, and received his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. Congratulations Steve!”

Miran responded to the announcement, posting a statement on X: “I am beyond honored that President Trump has chosen me to lead his Council of Economic Advisers. I look forward to working to help implement the President’s policy agenda to create a booming, noninflationary economy that brings prosperity to all Americans!”

Tom Homan began by saying bluntly: “If I offend anyone today, I don’t care.”

He called Trump’s re-election the “best day of his life.”

The incoming border czar slammed the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis and promised to secure the border.

He told the crowd: “If you enter this country in violation of federal law, you’re going home and Tom Homan is going to make sure that happens.”

Homan also addressed the elected officials who have said they plan to thwart Trump’s proposed mass deportations and remain “sanctuary cities.”

He said: “Shame on any elected representative...who don’t want to remove safety threats from their community.”

The Texas Senator gave a wide-ranging, energized speech about what he believes the next administration will bring.

“Donald J Trump is truly an extraordinary leader. Has there ever been anyone in American history who gets shot in the head and stands up and says ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’?” Cruz asked the Arizona crowd.

Cruz touched on the incoming administration’s immigration policies: “If you are an illegal alien, if you’re a murderer, if you’re a rapist...pack your bags because you’re out!” He also promised that Americans will see illegal immigration numbers “plummet” in January and February.

We will enforce the law “especially against universities in this country,” the Texas Senator said, referencing pro-Palestine demonstrations that cropped up in colleges in the fall.

Cruz predicted the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East will soon come to an end, saying Putin and Hamas will lose.

Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose two trips — which hadn’t been publicly reported — paid for by a billionaire Republican donor, a new Congressional report reveals.

In the wake of ProPublica’s explosive 2023 report into Thomas’ failures to disclose his ties to wealthy donor Harlan Crow, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a 20-month investigation into the ethics challenges at the Supreme Court.

The report — spanning 97 pages plus 824 pages of supporting documents — was released Saturday, detailing two additional trips paid for by Crow that Thomas hadn’t previously disclosed. More broadly, the report also captured an array of conflicts of interest and undisclosed gifts by justices, prompting the panel to recommend the nation’s highest court establish an enforceable code of conduct.

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