# Is Trump threatening to seize the Panama Canal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [December 22, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000 "2024-12-22T01:31:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/1 "2024-12-22T01:31:32Z")
Is Trump threatening a U.S. seizure of the Panama Canal? Are we going to be drawn into an imperialist war at the outset of fascist Trump’s administration? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/2 "2024-12-22T01:36:52Z")
Link to what OP is talking about; > **['We will demand that the Panama Canal be returned': Trump issues threat to...](https://www.rawstory.com/trump-panama-canal-threat/)** > > "We will demand that the Panama Canal be returned," Donald Trump declared over the weekend. > > Trump on Saturday took to his own social media site, Truth Social, to issue a threat to local Panama officials about the famous Panama Canal. > > "The Panama... My take? More of his usual bluster. He didn’t get the debt ceiling abolition he was demanding from Congress, so now he’s going after someone he perceives as a weaker target out of an expectation that they’ll just give him whatever he wants in order to make him happy. He’ll probably threaten to “tariff them” if they don’t turn over the Canal Zone, but like most schoolyard bullies he isn’t going to actually do anything about it when they don’t immediately roll over. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/3 "2024-12-22T02:18:39Z")
Incidentally, looking at the full text of the tweet, there’s no way in hell Vice President Trump wrote this. [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tq74dr7kypgnvfx7gsnelfm4/bafkreibahv4dznri4tfdx2eilew27oytrsckfa4jdnrdln3l3biqdhvtua@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tq74dr7kypgnvfx7gsnelfm4/bafkreibahv4dznri4tfdx2eilew27oytrsckfa4jdnrdln3l3biqdhvtua@jpeg) [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4usmserhjqkvhldgedfjb3jw/bafkreibco3fynfni4vueycuc7hqltbxhli3vfbkmmbmpur4gi7gbthmauq@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4usmserhjqkvhldgedfjb3jw/bafkreibco3fynfni4vueycuc7hqltbxhli3vfbkmmbmpur4gi7gbthmauq@jpeg) Someone on Bluesky pointed out that “magnanimous gesture” is a phrase that Vice President Trump’s boss has used on Twitter before. [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:agsxmicokb65pubftcgtv4kj/bafkreict2h5rzmcndcqqjvcruglrurmncy3ep6stsprhok2ukv5opuj56y@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:agsxmicokb65pubftcgtv4kj/bafkreict2h5rzmcndcqqjvcruglrurmncy3ep6stsprhok2ukv5opuj56y@jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/4 "2024-12-22T02:42:43Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Vice President He’s not vice President. He’s simply Vice. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/5 "2024-12-22T10:14:44Z")
And seizing back the Suez Canal did such wonders for the UK and France… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/6 "2024-12-22T10:36:48Z")
Seizing Ukraine is doing such wonders for Russia… ---
**Author:** ![FrenchDunadan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frenchdunadan/32/5449_2.png) [@FrenchDunadan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrenchDunadan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/7 "2024-12-22T17:03:02Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > And seizing back the Suez Canal did such wonders for the UK and France… Well, in a magnanimous gesture, we decided to let it to Nasser… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/8 "2024-12-22T17:08:13Z")
It is showing Trump how far you can go and still stay in power if you throw morals and ethics out the window. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/9 "2024-12-22T17:19:59Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It is showing Trump how far you can go and still stay in power if you throw morals and ethics out the window Okay, hang on: don’t you first need to _have_ some before you can then _defenestrate_ them? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/10 "2024-12-22T17:43:00Z")
Trump may have bought some on margin, so no skin off his nose. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/11 "2024-12-22T17:53:38Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Incidentally, looking at the full text of the tweet, there’s no way in hell Vice President Trump wrote this. Agreed. But if Trump is going to launch a war, he would want to find one where the enemy is easy to defeat. Contrast Panama to Mexico, another country that some Republicans want to invade. According to Wikipedia, the Mexican military has about 411,000 active duty members, plus a reserve. Panama has 16,000. Not as easy-peasy as Grenada was for Reagan, but it will hard for the generals to convince Trump it’s high risk. Do I really predict Trump will invade Panama? No, but he’ll be considering it, Musk or no Musk. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/12 "2024-12-22T18:01:22Z")
I think more and more Trump’s notices will not actually be written by Trump. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/13 "2024-12-22T18:23:56Z")
Slow down. It must have been a rainy day in Mad-a-Lardo - no golf. Some aide came up with the idea for a distracting shiny object. Told TFG that Obama had given the canal back to Panama (Carter but CFSG can’t remember that far back). Biden gave the canal to the Chinese\* China\*\*. Also, Panama took away his perfect hotel aided by Soros and Hillary\*\*\*. The aides must be falling down laughing over his outburst that they crafted. \*Trump only knows China, doesn’t understand _Chi-knees_. \*\*Hong Kong-based company Hutchison Ports PPC (a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings) manages the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on either side of the Panama Canal, giving China significant influence over the waterway’s operations; \*\*\*A workman wielding a crowbar pried off the silver T-R-U-M-P name from the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Panama back in 2018. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/14 "2024-12-22T18:29:46Z")
It’s a replay of the ‘greatest’ hits. Remember a few years back with all that nonsense about buying Greenland from Denmark? How it would be easy and cheap to do, despite making no sense whatsoever politically, economically, or in any other way for anybody else? More of that. Somebody put a worm in his ear, and he thinks repeating it makes him look smart and/or strong. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/15 "2024-12-22T18:35:27Z")
For historical context, many (most?) Americans considered giving control of the Panama Canal to Panama as a mistake when Carter did it in 1977. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/16 "2024-12-22T18:39:09Z")
“Panama’s a state now. Anybody got a problem with that?” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/va71a7pLvy8/hqdefault.jpg "MAD TV - David Herman is President.avi") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va71a7pLvy8) ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/17 "2024-12-22T19:02:50Z")
As I understand it, Panama was willing to sabotage the canal if things had gone wrong regarding the transfer back. They would be in an even better position now to blow the sluice gates up if it looks like Trump is going to do something stupid about the canal. Also, strategically the canal is not that important to the US military as it was when first built (and anyway, the big US navy ships don’t fit through the canal anymore). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/18 "2024-12-22T19:52:48Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Somebody put a worm in his ear, and he thinks repeating it makes him look smart and/or strong. I TOLD him not to Dance cheek-to-cheek with RFK Junior! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/19 "2024-12-22T20:04:19Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > Also, strategically the canal is not that important to the US military as it was when first built (and anyway, the big US navy ships don’t fit through the canal anymore). I was wondering about that; many ships, both commercial and military are too big today. Plus I’m sure other countries like China are pleased that Trump is distracted by irrelevant obsessions like this, or buying Greenland and ignoring the real issues facing the United States now and in the future. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-threatening-to-seize-the-panama-canal/1012000/20 "2024-12-24T15:10:45Z")
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