President-elect Donald Trump's statements on Greenland and Panama reflect his style for national security and protecting U.S. interests and are not threats of war or empire-building, former National Security Council chief of staff Fred Fleitz told Newsmax Wednesday.
"It reflects Trump's approach to U.S. national security that we're not going to be taken advantage of, we're not going to be walked on, we're not going to look the other way while China slowly and quietly buys influence to strategic resources," Fleitz said on "National Report."
"America is going to be assertive and to defend its interests" under Trump, he added.
For his part, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer said, "I think people need to read Donald Trump's book, 'Art of the Deal.'
"He always goes in from a position that gets people's attention. And then once people kind of flail around ... people settle down and they start having a realistic, adult discussion."
Shaffer pointed out that what the president-elect was opening up for discussion "are all things that are in U.S. interests. And Donald Trump is a businessman, he does not lead with aggressive use of military force."
Shaffer said the United States "would have clear advantages over China by gaining access and retaining access to these areas."
"Panama has for a long time been less than friendly to the United States, and I think there is going to have a reckoning one way or another," he said. "They are going to return to being friendly to our interests. I think it is a positive thing."
"All these things that President Trump says are opening positions for negotiations, and we'll go from there. And I think we'll see some good progress that will benefit the American people next year," Shaffer said.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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