Musk was also an early and vocal opponent of the budget compromise, amplifying criticism of the bill – much of it misleading – on his social media platform, X.

The final agreement did not address the issue, and there was no shutdown.

Addressing 20,000 supporters at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, Trump pledged that his “dream-team cabinet” would deliver a booming economy, seal US borders and quickly settle wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

“I can proudly proclaim that the Golden Age of America is upon us,” Trump said. “There’s a spirit that we have now that we didn’t have just a short while ago.”

He opened the speech by saying, “We want to try to bring everybody together. We’re going to try. We’re going to really give it a shot.” Then he suggested Democrats have “lost their confidence” and are “befuddled” after the election but eventually will “come over to our side because we want to have them”.

‘Rip-off will stop’

Trump also suggested that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal, which the United States had “foolishly” ceded to Panama almost 25 years ago, contending that shippers were being charged “ridiculous” fees to pass through the vital channel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

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“We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal,” he said, bemoaning that his country “foolishly gave it away”. “This complete rip-off” of the US “will immediately stop”.

If not, he said, the waterway could “be returned to the United States of America in full and without question”. He did not explain how that would be possible.

The US relinquished control of the canal to Panama in 1999 under a treaty signed by president Jimmy Carter in 1977.

Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino is a conservative populist, and the country is a strong American ally. The waterway is crucial for Panama’s economy and generates about one-fifth of its annual revenue.

Mulino was expected to speak about Trump’s comments later on Sunday (local time) in Panama City.

The canal was heavily affected by droughts in 2023, which forced it to slash the number of daily slots for crossing ships. With fewer ships using it each day, canal administrators increased the fees charged to shipping lines to reserve a slot.

With weather returning to normal in the later months of this year, the canal has resumed usual operations, but price increases are still expected next year.

AP, Bloomberg

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