President-elect Donald Trump visited Arizona on Sunday for his first rally since winning the November election.
He was met by thousands of enthusiastic admirers, confirming his popularity among the conservative base. Trump attempted to broaden his appeal during his 75-minute appearance on stage. But he also used his typical aggressiveness, like increasing threats against Panama and sending a message to entrepreneur Elon Musk. Here are some key takeaways from the speech:
President-elect tests unity message with typical bombast.
Trump talked for almost 75 minutes, much of which was standard Donald Trump speech, with plenty of jabs about the United States being “ripped off” and more bogus claims that he, not Democrat Joe Biden, won the 2020 presidential election. But Trump remained comfortable, loving his triumph over Vice President Kamala Harris in November, particularly in the popular vote after failing to win the most votes in 2016 or 2020. He even mentioned national unity, but with a sideways compliment to the defeated Democrats.
We had no riots. We didn’t have anything. “It was a beautiful thing to watch,” Trump stated. “They simply said, ‘We lost.'” And we want to try to get everyone together. We’re going to try. We’ll definitely give it a go.”
Trump, who loves to claim that his obvious but narrow 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 the Panama Canal to his worldwide strong talk.
Aside from his “Make America Great Again” slogan, Trump’s policy platform that connects so strongly with his followers is “America First.” It encapsulates his objections of international aid, specific US military activities abroad, and intentions to impose broad tariffs on imported goods.
On Sunday, he shifted his emphasis to the Panama Canal and its authorities. Trump said he would try to reclaim control of the canal if Panama did not reduce transit costs, which he claims are unjust. He claimed that the United States is being “ripped off” and criticized 100-year-old former President Jimmy Carter for “foolishly” abandoning control of the canal during his one stint in the White House nearly 50 years ago.
Panama’s conservative president, José Raúl Mulino, who was elected in May on a pro-business platform, quickly rejected the notion, calling it an assault to his country’s sovereignty.
The move maintains Trump’s trend of poking foreign leaders. He recently derided Canada as a state of the United States and referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “governor.” Trump’s followers applaud his bravado, claiming that he is only leveraging leverage and public pressure to his benefit. The actual policy outcomes are yet to be observed.
Trump sends Elon Musk a message.
Trump doesn’t seem to mind having two presidents at once as long as it means gaining an advantage over outgoing President Joe Biden. Trump traveled to Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. He was honored at the Army-Navy football game.
But the president-elect drew a line Sunday when asked if he would be looking over his shoulder at Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.
Trump criticized Democrats’ recent claims that he had given the presidency to Musk. “No, no. “That will not happen,” Trump stated. “He’s not gonna be president.”
Nonetheless, the allegation poured freely after Musk’s social media remarks helped derail one bipartisan congressional budget compromise and pushed Washington to the brink of a partial government shutdown. Trump has also given Musk influence by appointing him as co-chair of a quasi-government “efficiency” group tasked with cutting federal spending.
Trump has long been accustomed to operating his enterprises, campaigns, and the White House as the undisputed leader. He dislikes being outshone by lieutenants. Musk, however, has chosen an ally with a similar history and approach.
What he didn’t mention: tariff details and the Washington budget struggle.
Trump said little on tariffs, which are a critical component of his economic policy. Since victory, Trump has rejected to commit that sweeping tariffs will not raise prices for American consumers. The subject came up in multiple panels at the Turning Point convention. But not from the president-elect, even as he addressed other key issues.
The president-elect also declined to discuss the recent budget dispute in Washington, his role in it, or his inability to persuade House Republicans to raise the national debt ceiling, or government borrowing limit, possibly for the remainder of his term. That doesn’t mean Trump isn’t thinking about the challenge he’ll face early in his term, when the short-term legislative arrangement expires in March. However, it’s worth noting that he avoided the issue in public after directly addressing it last week.
Trump celebrates a broader Republican coalition.
The president-elect savored repeating political experts’ assessment that he had a weak voter turnout effort — “ground game,” in campaign jargon. He hailed Turning Point and its founder, Charlie Kirk, for their assistance in securing votes and broadening the GOP coalition. Trump cited growing support from youthful, Hispanic, and Black voters over the previous four years.
“You had Turning Point’s grassroots armies,” Trump explained. “It’s not my victory, it’s your victory.”