# Trump now wants to use military force to take the Panama Canal and Greenland **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 7, 2025, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691 "2025-01-07T20:27:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 26
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/501 "2025-04-14T21:29:14Z")
> [@rippingtons\_fan](#): > > Somehow this reminds me of the “purchase” of Manhattan way back when, for what was it, $24 worth of beads and trinkets. Again, a Native People will be getting gypped by whites. DAMN, I HATE Trump!!! The sellers definitely got the better of that deal. Because they weren’t even the people who lived on Manhattan Island. So they got $24 worth of trinkets for nothing. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/502 "2025-04-14T23:55:36Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > What could it cost, $10,000?” Per person. > **[Trump Admin Considering Giving $10,000 To Each Person In Greenland To Annex...](https://www.latintimes.com/trump-admin-considering-giving-10000-each-person-greenland-annex-island-580455)** > > The Trump administration is reportedly considering giving about $10,000 to each Greenland resident as part of its plan to annex the territory ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/503 "2025-04-20T19:48:06Z")
And finally an explanation of 'Why Greenland?" > **[Billionaires dream of building utopian techno-city in Greenland](https://www.popsci.com/technology/billionaire-freedom-city-greenland/)** > > The 'freedom city' is the latest effort to create stateless cities with minimal corporate regulation. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/504 "2025-04-20T21:55:49Z")
Re last post, he was serious about buying Greenland in Trump 45. Donald cancelled a state visit in pique over Danish refusal to sell: [Brookings Institution: Punishing Denmark over Greenland shows Trump has defected to the autocrats (August 2019)](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/punishing-denmark-over-greenland-shows-trump-has-defected-to-the-autocrats/) > [@](#): > > lt is one thing to float a cockamamie idea that no one believes is serious or will go anywhere. “Let’s buy Greenland!” Yes, very funny. A good distraction from the economy, the failure to deal with white supremacy, White House staff problems, or whatever is the news of the day. It is quite another to use leverage and impose costs on Denmark in pursuit of that goal—and make no mistake, canceling a presidential visit is using leverage and imposing costs. The difference now is “one way or the other.” ---
**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:** [April 20, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/505 "2025-04-20T21:57:50Z")
You know, I can’t help but think there’s probably a REASON nobody’s built any megacities in Greenland before. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/506 "2025-04-20T22:30:02Z")
Yeah…but these ideology-driven “build a utopia” ideas almost never consider _practicality._ Not that I expect it to go anywhere; these libertarian schemes almost always dissolve in scam before anything ever actually gets built, much less completed. As I’ve said elsewhere nobody ever manages to _build_ [Rapture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture_(BioShock)). Utter selfishness and a hatred of cooperation are self defeating for anything but parasitism. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/507 "2025-04-20T22:38:40Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Yeah…but these ideology-driven “build a utopia” ideas almost never consider _practicality._ Exhibit 1: Seasteading. > **[The Seasteading Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seasteading_Institute)** > > The Seasteading Institute (TSI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed to facilitate the establishment of autonomous, mobile communities on seaborne platforms operating in international waters (a proposed practice called seasteading). It was founded by Wayne Gramlich and Patri Friedman on April 15, 2008. > Friedman and Gramlich noted that according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a country's Exclusive Economic Zone extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) from shore. Beyo... ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/508 "2025-04-20T22:47:40Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Utter selfishness and a hatred of cooperation are self defeating for anything but parasitism. Those libertarians are giving parasites a bad name and I resent that. I somewhat like parasites, I wrote some **[interesting random facts I stumbled across about them](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8284)** some time ago. I have never written anything even remotely as positive about libertarians. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/509 "2025-04-21T01:07:54Z")
Christ, if taking us to a needless war isn’t grounds to shitcan this guy, what is? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/510 "2025-04-21T01:45:34Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Christ, if taking us to a needless war isn’t grounds to shitcan this guy, what is? War can only occur if U.S. military force is resisted. Panama has no real army, but about 75 times as many people as Greenland. So maybe they can mount harassing attacks after the U.S. conquest. I don’t see how Greenland can resist, either initially or in the long term.. So I think they are in the graver danger than Panama – and do not seem to really understand it: [Greenland election winners believe “free association” with Denmark or US “should be considered” as “solution” to independence](https://www.nationalia.info/brief/11672/greenland-election-winners-believe-free-association-with-denmark-or-us-should-be-considere) > [@](#): > > Demokraatit believe that a “free association” model with another country could be suitable for a sovereign Greenland. The winning party cites Denmark and the United States as “the only two realistic options” to make this possible. I’m sure Trump would hint at the free association model (used by the nations of Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau). In that model, the county adopts the U.S. dollar and U.S. Postal Service, but has an independent foreign policy with a seat in the United Nations. And they have their own flag, not the stars and stripes.That’s nothing like the colonial property Trump is gunning for. However,.if you by some chance mean economic war, I agree. NATO would have to do something against the U.S., and economic warfare is all they could begin to manage. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/511 "2025-04-21T01:48:02Z")
Panama would probably mean the parking of ships at each end, and then blasting anybody that snipes at them. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/512 "2025-04-21T04:38:13Z")
Panama could threaten to blow up the canal I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/513 "2025-04-21T06:30:06Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Christ, if taking us to a needless war isn’t grounds to shitcan this guy, what is? They didn’t shitcan GWB for that. Why do you think they’d shitcan the current guy? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/514 "2025-04-21T07:27:39Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Christ, if taking us to a needless war isn’t grounds to shitcan this guy, what is? Panama is full of brown people and has something America would find profitable; that’s _more_ than enough to make war desirable to Americans. Every Panamanian who dies is a victory for white racism. Trump could kill everyone there and I’d expect the majority of Americans to cheer him on; that’s the kind of thing he was elected to do. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/515 "2025-04-21T13:42:00Z")
Trump’s plan is to block the canal, and sell extra fuel to ships that will have to drive around South America. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/516 "2025-04-22T14:14:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You know, I can’t help but think there’s probably a REASON nobody’s built any megacities in Greenland before. Hey, if a bunch of Randian billionaires want to build Galt’s Gulch in the middle of Greenland, populated entirely by themselves and none of those yucky poor people who, you know, do cooking and cleaning and other shit like that, I’m all for it. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/517 "2025-04-22T15:41:00Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Hey, if a bunch of Randian billionaires want to build Galt’s Gulch in the middle of Greenland, populated entirely by themselves and none of those yucky poor people who, you know, do cooking and cleaning and other shit like that, I’m all for it. The income tax in Greenland, outside an existing municipally, looks to be a not-so-Randian 35 or 36 percent, but they should like that it’s basically a flat rate: [Personal Income Tax](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/greenland/individual/taxes-on-personal-income#:~:text=An%20individual%20who%20is%20fully,limited%20tax%20liability%20to%20Greenland) ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/518 "2025-05-03T02:31:54Z")
Greenlanders do not seem to be taking their situation nearly as seriously as I think it deserves. This is from last week: [King Frederick Has Faced Several Setbacks During the First Days of His First Official Trip to Greenland](https://catalunyadiari.com/en/news/concern-for-king-federico-after-what-happened-during-greenland-trip) > [@](#): > > King Frederick’s reception in Nuuk was sparse, as only three citizens came to the port to greet him. Despite this, the monarch was very approachable and grateful for their presence. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/519 "2025-05-07T04:20:00Z")
> The U.S. is stepping up its intelligence-gathering efforts regarding Greenland, drawing America’s spying apparatus into President Trump’s campaign to [take over the island](https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-eyes-a-new-real-estate-purchase-greenland-11565904223), according to two people familiar with the effort. > > Several high-ranking officials under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a “collection emphasis message” to intelligence-agency heads last week. They were directed to learn more about Greenland’s independence movement and attitudes on American resource extraction on the island. > > The classified message asked agencies, whose tools include surveillance satellites, communications intercepts and spies on the ground, to identify people in Greenland and Denmark who support U.S. objectives for the island. > > The directive is one of the first concrete steps Trump’s administration has taken toward fulfilling the president’s often-stated desire to acquire Greenland. **U.S. Orders Intelligence Agencies to Step Up Spying on Greenland** [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/u-s-orders-intelligence-agencies-to-step-up-spying-on-greenland/ar-AA1EhVT2](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/u-s-orders-intelligence-agencies-to-step-up-spying-on-greenland/ar-AA1EhVT2) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/520 "2025-05-07T05:43:49Z")
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