Trump: US did a ‘good job’ building Panama Canal

by Jacqueline Thomsen - 06/19/17 12:41 PM ET

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[POTUS welcomes Panamanian president]

Trump: “The Panama Canal is doing quite well. I think we did a good job building it…” pic.twitter.com/p4CuIOtlBV

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 19, 2017

President Trump said the U.S. “did a good job” building the Panama Canal while giving an introduction for the president of Panama at the White House Monday.

Trump and Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela spoke briefly with reporters in the Oval Office when Trump made the remark.

“The Panama Canal is doing quite well, I think we did a good job building it — a very good job,” Trump said.

The U.S. completed construction on the Panama Canal in 1914. Panama took control of the waterway in 1999.

{mosads}Trump also highlighted the relationship between the U.S. and Panama, saying his friendship with Varela is “very, very good.”

Varela then thanked Trump for hosting the visit and said he was looking forward to his meetings with U.S. agencies and officials during the course of his four-day-long stay in D.C.

“The idea of this visit is to work closely together to face the same challenges that we have in the region of Central America and Latin America and in our country,” Varela said.

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