United States President-elect Donald Trump has been greeted by thousands of supporters at his first rally speech in Arizona since winning the November election.
Trump employed his usual aggressiveness, including ratcheting up threats against Panama and sending a message to billionaire Elon Musk.
Here are some key takeaways from the 75-minute speech:
President-elect offers talk of national unity
Trump was relaxed, relishing his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, especially prevailing in the popular vote after not getting the most votes in 2016 or 2020.
He went so far as to offer talk of national unity, though with a sideways compliment to vanquished Democrats.
“We had no riots. We had no anything. It was a beautiful thing to watch,” Trump said. “They just said, ‘We lost.’ And we want to try bringing everybody together. We’re going to try. We’re going to really give it a shot.”
Trump, who likes to say that his clear but close victory was a landslide, argued: “There’s a spirit that we have now that we didn’t have just a short while ago.”
Trump adds Panama Canal to his international tough talk
Besides his “Make America Great Again” motto, Trump’s policy brand that resonates so strongly with his supporters is “America First”. It encapsulates his criticism of foreign aid, certain US military interventions overseas, and his plans to impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods.
He focused on a new target on Sunday: the Panama Canal and Panama’s government. Trump suggested he would try to regain control of the canal if Panama does not adjust passage fees that Trump insists are unfair.
He said the US is being “ripped off” and took a shot at 100-year-old former President Jimmy Carter for “foolishly” ceding control of the canal during his one White House term almost half a century ago.
Within hours, Panama’s conservative president, Jose Raul Mulino, who was elected in May on a pro-business platform, rejected the idea as an affront to his country’s sovereignty.
The move continues a run of Trump poking at foreign leaders. He recently mocked Canada as a US state and referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor”.
Trump’s supporters love the brashness and argue he is simply using leverage and public pressure to US advantage. The actual policy outcomes remain to be seen.
Trump sends Elon Musk a message
The president-elect drew a line on Sunday at the suggestion that he will be looking over his shoulder at Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.
Trump mocked Democrats’ recent suggestions that he has ceded the presidency to Musk. “No, no. That’s not happening,” Trump said. “He’s not gonna be president.”
Still, the charge flowed freely after Musk’s social media posts helped spike one bipartisan congressional budget deal and pushed Washington to the brink of a partial government shutdown.
Trump has also empowered Musk by naming him as co-chair of a quasi-government “efficiency” commission charged with slashing federal spending.
Trump has long been accustomed to running his businesses, his campaigns and the White House as the clear number one. And he notably does not like to be outshone by lieutenants. In Musk, though, he has opted for an ally who has the same background and approach.
What he did not mention – tariffs
Trump did not talk much about tariffs – a key plank in his economic platform. Since winning, Trump has notably declined to promise that widespread tariffs would not result in higher prices for US consumers. The issue came up in several sessions at the Turning Point convention. But not from the president-elect, even as he ticked through other policy matters.
Trump also did not acknowledge any details of the recent budget fight in Washington, his part in it and his failure to convince House Republicans to lift the national debt ceiling, or government borrowing limit – perhaps for as long as the duration of his term.
That does not mean Trump is not thinking about the fight he is going to have early in his term when the short-term congressional deal runs out in March.
But it is notable that he sidestepped the matter publicly after wading in so explicitly last week.
Trump celebrates broadened Republican coalition
The president-elect relished reliving political pundits’ analysis that he had a weak voter turnout effort – “ground game”, in campaign parlance.
He thanked Turning Point and its founder, Charlie Kirk, for their part in corralling votes and expanding the GOP coalition.
Trump singled out young, Hispanic and Black voters for their increased support over what he earned from those blocs four years ago.
“You had Turning Point’s grassroots armies,” Trump said. “It’s not my victory, it’s your victory.”
