God bless America. This president of ours is something. 

Yeah, he makes a lot of noise and says what seems - to a world used to the polite pablum of diplomatic argle-bargle - to be some pretty outrageous stuff. Even jarring to the ear at times, it can be so bombastic. Lord, it irritates the crap out of establishment types and horrifies the polite elements still existing in society who just want to get along with everyone.

But I find that when 'WE'RE TAKING THE PANAMA CANAL BACK FROM CHINA' or 'THE PARIS ACCORDS ARE CRAP' thunder from a podium or, now, from behind the Resolute Desk (giggity and thank God), my initial reaction isn't the old, "Here we go again."

It's quite the opposite - not as if it were one of those logic puzzles. I'm terrible at those, not having a logical bone in my body.

No, it's a puzzlement of the intuitive kind.

I wonder who the message is for.

I feel like I won a prize when I can tease out or stumble over the underlying cause or the beneficial effects of any Trumpian blast.

That happened this morning with two of his more popular Trumpisms followed by the Executive Orderpalooza last night.

Let's take the Panama Canal. That one seems pretty simple on its face - Jimmy Carter gave it away for $1 and a vague exhortation to 'respect the rights of the American citizens' who still lived there.

Trump's complaints have been that Panama is charging American ships exorbitant rates to use the canal we built and that they've allowed China to take it over. Panama does have succinct requirements per the Carter treaty to maintain the 'neutrality' of the waterway.

Trump was pretty clear yesterday that the days of ignoring that part of the agreement are over.

Trump: "We didn't give the Panama Canal to China, so we are taking it back" pic.twitter.com/LUZmsUYBvv

— Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) January 20, 2025

It's hard to miss the message and the president of Panama responded publicly almost immediately.

IT'S OURS, WE RUN IT AND WE DIDN'T DO NOTHING

JUST IN: President of Panama released a statement stating he rejects Trump's calls for the US to retake control of the Panama Canal.

Here's the translation of his statement from Grok: pic.twitter.com/IuHvAXYDT4

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 20, 2025

Sounds like a stand-off, huh?

Not exactly. While the Panamanian president was busy having his secretary fire off the public paper face of defiance, he swiftly spun his action arm into an official audit against Hong Kong's Hutchinson Ports.

...China does not control or administer the canal, but Hong Kong’s Hutchison Ports has managed two ports located near the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances. In the wake of Trump’s speech yesterday, Panamanian authorities said they have initiated an audit of Hutchison Ports.

So a Chinese entity DOES 'control' the ports at both ends of the Panama Canal. A Chinese company - and any Chinese company is indistinguishable from the Chinese government - which, in September, was given another 25-year deal by the Panamanian government to run those ports

PPC is a subsidiary of Hutchison Ports Holdings and administers the ports of Balboa on the Pacific side and Cristobal on the Panama Canal Atlantic entrance.

Several economic sectors called for a review of the conditions of the contract with PPC prior to the renewal.

According to a government statement, PPC will make a payment of $130m in dividends, plus $20m for Social Responsibility and $14,464,491.35 in concept of tariffs (movement of containers and wharfage) totalling $164,464,491.35 “which represents the largest amount managed and received from any past administration during the term of this contract,” said the statement. However, it is not specified whether payment of dividends are advanced and up to which year.

But the United States president at the time peeped nary a word in protest. 

The incoming president has consistently made his displeasure known. Last month, even the New York Times had their fingers under their collars as they split hairs, saying, 'Wellll. Trump's an ass...but he kind of has a point.'

Trump’s Falsehoods Aside, China’s Influence Over Global Ports Raises Concerns

The president-elect inaccurately said that Chinese soldiers operate the Panama Canal. But China’s strategic positions in shipping worry Washington officials.

On Dec. 25, President-elect Donald J. Trump went on his social media platform, Truth Social, to wish a “Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal.”

Mr. Trump’s claim is false. The Panama Canal is operated by an agency of the Panamanian government, not by Chinese soldiers. In a news conference, President José Raúl Mulino of Panama disputed Mr. Trump’s statements, saying that there were “no Chinese in the canal” beyond those in transiting ships or at the visitor center.

“There is absolutely no Chinese interference or participation in anything that has to do with the Panama Canal,” Mr. Mulino said.

While Mr. Trump’s claim was inaccurate, the growing influence of Chinese companies and the Chinese government over shipping and global ports, including the Panama Canal, has become a concern for U.S. officials.

The Chinese government has invested heavily in building ports throughout the world. And given that China is the world’s biggest exporter, private Chinese companies now play a major role in shipping and port operations, giving them significant influence over the movement of global goods and strategic positions from which to monitor other countries’ activities.

Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Trump-Vance transition team, said in a statement that “Chinese control of the Panama Canal absolutely poses a national security threat to the U.S.”

He pointed to congressional testimony last year by Gen. Laura J. Richardson, the head of U.S. Southern Command, that Chinese infrastructure investments serve as “points of future multi-domain access” for the Chinese military.

Trump is president as of yesterday, and the Panamanians responded to that first official shot across the bow by scrambling to cover their sixes. It remains to be seen if they crawl up some Chinese butt in sincerity or if their 'audit' is so much empty theater for the cameras, but I can guarantee you something is going to change.

You can bet Xi received the message, too.

Another revelation this morning was a benefit of Trump re-dumping the Paris Climate Accords. Sure, it means we don't have to buy an EV or eat bugs anytime soon, and that's cool by me.

But it turns out there's yet another practical effect that I can't help but believe Trump was fully aware of the worldwide trade implications, which is why he made it a point to highlight pulling the US out last night. First thing, chop-chop.

There is something called the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is the global shipping regulator and it is not an independent international board, like you might imagine.

You'll never guess who they are run by.

IMO – the International Maritime Organization – is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. IMO's work supports the UN sustainable development goals.

Starting to see the problem? It gets better.

They get together to set shipping regulations and policies, and an early January committee meeting agenda gave a hint of what they would have on tap for the IMO meeting this April.

Environmental issues including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships will be at the center of the 82nd session of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in London through Friday.

The global shipping regulator is pushing the industry that carries 90% of global trade to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.

More unicorn fart fantasy - a worldwide zero-carbon shipping industry. Or just a really expensive one pretending to be zero-carbon by paying big bucks for offsets that are passed to...who again?

HELLO

It reconfirmed what shipping companies were saying back in October, and, again, I can't believe Trump wasn't aware of this in some facet or another.

According to Bloomberg, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S expects the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to approve a charge on greenhouse gas emissions from ships as early as 2025.

This follows ongoing talks in London, where countries are negotiating new regulations to reduce emissions from the shipping sector, which currently contributes about a billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. Simon Bergulf, Maersk’s representative for Europe, told Bloomberg that while the details of the framework are still emerging, the approval of a pollution charge in 2025 seems increasingly likely.

Bloomberg also reported that the IMO’s potential new rules include a phased reduction in the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of energy used by ships, which could significantly cut emissions and cost the industry billions if it continues to pollute. These regulations are set to come into force in 2027, and, if implemented, the IMO would establish the first global, mandatory pricing mechanism for shipping emissions.

Figures of anywhere from $60 to $150 per ton for these 'pollution charges' are being debated. You can imagine what that is going to do to the price of shipping goods from Point A to Point B, particularly with the current fraught international security environment.

All in the cause of the climate cult's pursuit of NetZero and the tenets of the Paris Accords.

Trump just negated that with the stroke of his Sharpie, so where does that leave the UN's NetZero authoritarians?

I think the word is 'flailing.'

...In Monday’s speech, Trump also repeated his promise to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America while later on in the day Trump also signed an order to withdraw the US from the United Nations’ Paris climate agreement, something that augurs poorly for impending green discussions at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) where a global carbon levy on shipping is expected to be discussed in April.

When the 500 lb gorilla leaves the room, nobody is left to control the monkeys.

So, that's the briefest sketch of what's under two of Trump's typically shallow-sounding, bombastic pronouncements - they all have layers like onions. 

You only have to ignore the noise and start peeling away.