In a move that is already generating international controversy, President Donald Trump declared this week that American commercial and military vessels should be allowed to pass through the Panama and Suez Canals without paying any fees. Trump claimed that these strategic waterways would not even exist without the contributions of the United States, sparking diplomatic tension with Panama, Egypt, and other concerned nations.

Posting on Truth Social on April 27, Trump argued, “American ships, both military and commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals! Those canals would not exist without the United States of America.” Trump also revealed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been directed “to immediately take care of, and memorialize, this situation,” though he provided few details on how this demand would be enforced or negotiated.

While Trump’s rhetoric plays well among his populist base, the historical record casts serious doubt on his assertions-especially regarding the Suez Canal. Built between 1859 and 1869, the Suez Canal was the brainchild of French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps and financed primarily by French and Egyptian interests. The United States had no involvement in its construction, ownership, or early operations. British forces later seized effective control, and eventually, after decades of conflict and colonial rivalry, Egypt nationalized the canal in 1956 under President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

If anything, America’s involvement with the Suez Canal has been largely peripheral, limited to diplomatic pressure and occasional interventions in times of conflict, such as its participation in........

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