The President-elect of the USA, Trump, stated that he would not guarantee avoiding attempts to control Greenland or the Panama Canal from leading to military confrontation. When asked if he could assure other countries that he would not resort to economic or military coercion to achieve his goals, Trump said, "I can give you no guarantees on these two issues, but I can say this: we need them to ensure economic security." "I will not make a commitment on this," Trump continued. On the same occasion, Trump also indicated that he would seek to expand USA influence in the Western Hemisphere, including plans to rename the "Gulf of Mexico" as "American Bay." "We will rename the Gulf of Mexico to American Bay; it has a beautiful ring to it, covering a lot of territory," Trump said, "What a beautiful name, and it is very fitting."