President Trump told Panama on Monday he plans to take control of the Panama Canal because the Central American country has allowed China to gain too much sway over the vital waterway.

Mr. Trump said it was a mistake for President Carter to give the canal to Panama after American efforts to build a link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

“We’re taking it back,” Mr. Trump said at his inaugural address.

Mr. Trump made the threat as part of an inaugural speech that leaned into key national debates about culture and landmarks.

He said he would make federal programs color-blind in place of diversity and equity programs, and announced a new federal policy on gender.

“There are only two genders: male and female,” Mr. Trump said.

He repeated his pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” and said Alaska’s Mount Denali will be “Mount McKinley” again.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.