What’s new

President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals for the United States to take control of the Panama Canal have found an unlikely supporter: vocal Trump critic Meghan McCain.

The political commentator said Trump was right on the issue, saying her support for his rhetoric was “personal” since her father, John McCain, was born in the region.

Newsweek emailed the Trump transition team seeking comment for this story.

Why it matters

Meghan McCain has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump and refused to vote for him in the 2024 election, despite her Republican background. This reflects her father’s relationship with Trump, as John McCain, as Senator for Arizona, often thwarted Trump’s legislative agenda.

But Meghan McCain’s support for Trump’s actions on the Panama Canal represents a change in tone as the president-elect prepares to return to the White House in January 2025.

What you should know

On Saturday, Trump called the Panama Canal a “complete rip-off” and called on Panama, which has controlled the waterway since 1999, to lower tariffs on U.S. ships passing through the canal.

Trump also threatened that if his demands were not met, “we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in full and without question.” The Panamanian President,

José Raúl Mulino responded that “every square meter of the Panama Canal” would remain under Panamanian control.

Prior to 1999, the canal was operated jointly by U.S. and Panamanian authorities before a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 ensured the final transfer of management.

According to Statista, around 14,000 ships pass through the Panama Canal every year. The narrow route, first opened by the United States in 1914, allows cargo ships to travel between the American continents rather than having to circumnavigate them, reducing transit times.

What people say

Meghan McCain said on X (formerly Twitter): “Trump is right about the Panama Canal. This is very personal – my father was born in the Panama Canal Zone.”

President-elect Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “The fees charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially given the extraordinary generosity the U.S. has shown to Panama. This complete ‘rip-off’ of our country will stop immediately…If the principles, both moral and legal, of this generous gesture of giving are not followed, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in full and without question.”

Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino said: “The tariffs are not set on a whim, but are based on expert assessments of operating costs and market dynamics.”

“China does not control or manage the canal. When it comes to our canal and our sovereignty, we will all unite under our Panamanian flag.”

What happens next

Trump is expected to put an “America First” approach to foreign policy at the center of his new administration, which will return to the White House in January 2025. It is unclear whether he will take further action against Panama.