‘Now it’s our turn to shine!’ How world leaders greeted Trump’s inauguration
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Most leaders were diplomatic about their differences, while others more ideologically aligned with the new US president voiced their joy. International leaders have responded with a mixture of wariness, anger and enthusiasm to Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, with Panama pushing back on his pledge to retake the Panama Canal and Mexico vowing to defend its people ahead of a crackdown on migrants.
![[From Panama to Mars: the most extreme announcements in Trump's inauguration speech – video]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/bd998c9d460183985fe65b1652be2338f9426801/0_61_6000_3375/6000.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
After Trump declared that the Panama Canal was a “foolish gift” to Panama that “should never have been made” during his inauguration speech, Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino said the waterway “is and will continue to be Panamanian”.
![[US President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2017.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7973a9020306ba61a7e04d84e716e69db290cfb7/0_95_2465_1480/master/2465.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration,” he said in a statement on X, in apparent reference to Trump’s accusation that Panama had ceded its operation to China. “The canal was not a concession from anyone,” he continued. “It was the result of generational struggles.”.
![[Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, in June 2019.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/e1e865070147e0af8ea465eb2997a53486a10dc1/75_0_3508_2106/master/3508.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum urged Mexican immigrants in the US to remain calm, reiterating that the two countries had a good relationship while also urging “dialogue” and respect”. “To our countrymen and women, I say that, first, you are not alone; and, second, that we must also remain calm and see how the process develops,” the leftwing leader said.
