Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made an appearance on Fox News this morning to let the American people know the Trump administration is actively planning for how the United States will soon “take back” the Panama Canal.
During an interview with Maria Bartiromo, Hegseth revealed he had just returned from Panama.
“Well, President Trump said at the State of the Union address, China has too much influence over the Panama Canal and America is gonna take it back and that’s exactly what I was charged to do what we’re continuing to do. Chinese influence cannot control our own backyard, especially a critical waterway key terrain like the Panama Canal.”
“I want to thank President Molina, a pro-Trump, pro-America president of Panama who’s sticking his neck out against communists, whose influence was real there,” he added. “Maria, we could see it; you could feel it.”
“The communist Chinese want to control politicians. They’re building infrastructure projects. They want to surveil, they want to take that canal. President Trump says not on our watch.”
Of course, Hegseth is 100% wrong. The Panama Canal belongs to the nation of Panama, so how in the hell are we going to take it back?
Also, while the defense secretary suggests that China has undue influence on the canal, there is no evidence to support such an accusation. All nations have equal access to the canal and pay the same rates for passing through it.
The real story here is that the Trump administration is actively seeking an armed conflict with China, which just so happens to have nuclear weapons and is not about to sit still while this president and his obedient cabinet members try to touch off a shooting war with the Chinese.
Hegeseth, much like Trump, is in way over his paygrade. He needs to shut up and stop trying to pretend he’s some sort of alpha male. There’s nothing alpha about a fascist suck up or his yipping chihuahua boss in the Oval Office.
Here’s the video from Fox:
