# 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:** 35
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/681 "2026-01-09T01:49:36Z")
a) I know we make fun of Jeanine Pirro for being sloshed all the time, but has Maria always been this intoxicated sounding? She rambles a bit and then after the talking penis starts talking (she had an awkward pause), she jumps back in with a stumbling question. b) I try not to body-shame, but sometimes it is hard not to. That guy is the closest representation to a talking penis I could imagine. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/682 "2026-01-09T01:53:54Z")
According to Wikipedia, Greenland only has a population of 56,831. I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump solves any discontent with being conquered by deporting the whole population as"illegals". ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/683 "2026-01-09T02:27:57Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump solves any discontent with being conquered by deporting the whole population as"illegals". I would be — if only because there almost always are some quislings he would let stay. In World War II, Britain locked up Sir Oswald Mosley, reasonably seen as a potential quisling. While I’m generally a free speech absolutist, there are some wartime exceptions. If you are saying that it is hopeless for Greenland, small countries sometimes surprise, and I would avoid defeatism ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/684 "2026-01-09T18:39:49Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Another recent situation where Trump made a part-time appointment to a full-time job is when he put [Domestic Policy Council boss Vince Haley’ in charge of building the arch](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-affordability-arc-de-trump-b2884761.html). Haley is a [lawyer who seems to have no construction experience](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Haley). But Trump is surely serious about having his arch built. Wait, Trump is now trying to have an arch built on the Mall to commemorate himself? Of course he is. Egomaniac at large. And imagine that, or looks just like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Except I assume he said “but bigger”. Which is appropriate given Trump’s bigger butt. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/685 "2026-01-09T21:11:37Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > And imagine that, or looks just like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Except I assume he said “but bigger”. And he has referred to this arch as an “arc”. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2026, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/686 "2026-01-10T08:45:02Z")
And the animals will pass under it in two by two singing _après moi le déluge_. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/687 "2026-01-11T01:38:27Z")
UK declines Trump’s request to help invade Greenland. > **[Britain will not help the US invade Greenland, says defence secretary](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/britain-us-greenland-trump-invasion-denmark-b2897866.html)** > > US president says ‘we will do something on Greenland whether they like it or not’ ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/688 "2026-01-11T01:55:27Z")
I didn’t expect this: [Danish forces will ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ if Greenland is invaded amid US threats](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/denmark-greenland-us-invasion-trump-b2896721.html) > [@](#): > > Danish troops will immediately [respond to any invasion of Greenland with force](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-venezuela-latest-oil-tanker-maduro-b2896665.html), the country’s defence ministry warned as [the US continues to weigh up military intervention to annex the territory](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/greenland-us-denmark-trump-rubio-military-b2896407.html). > > The ministry told Danish outlet _Berlingske_ that soldiers would be [required to counter any foreign invasion](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/greenland-trump-denmark-nato-venezuela-attack-b2895821.html) without awaiting orders under the military’s rules of engagement. Now both prime ministers, Greenland and Denmark, need to say this over and over. Risky, yes, but I believe Trump can be deterred. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2026, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/689 "2026-01-11T02:10:45Z")
Hasn’t NATO said that they will close down all U.S. NATO military bases if the U.S. invades Greenland? Where’s the geopolitical advantage of seizing Greenland then, Fascist Trump? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/690 "2026-01-11T03:06:50Z")
> [@rippingtons\_fan](#): > > geopolitical “Too many syllables. Not a real word. I never heard of that. Must be some elitist woke B.S.” The only reason he needs is 'cause he wants to. And it will make people forget about Epst–n. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/691 "2026-01-11T03:43:10Z")
> [@rippingtons\_fan](#): > > Hasn’t NATO said that they will close down all U.S. NATO military bases if the U.S. invades Greenland? NATO has NOT said they will close down any bases, much less all. The Danish PM said “everything stops” in NATO if the U.S. invades Greenland. But Denmark didn’t say they would close down bases. If Trump gets his way, I suppose the U.S. may close them down on its own. But I doubt the Europeans would try to stop the bases from staying open. They might prefer for any closing process to be extremely slow with hopes the Democrats get back in power before the bases are gone. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2026, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/692 "2026-01-11T03:45:02Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If Trump gets his way, I suppose the U.S. may close them down on its own. But I doubt the Europeans would try to stop the bases from staying open. They might prefer for any closing process to be extremely slow with hopes the Democrats get back in power before the bases are gone. Or they may close them down as fast as possible due to them being a security threat. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/693 "2026-01-11T03:56:43Z")
Trump orders Army to make plans to invade Greenland. > Sources say that the policy ‘hawks’ around the US President, led by political adviser Stephen Miller, have been so emboldened by the success of the operation to capture Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro that they want to move quickly to seize the island before Russia or China makes a move. > **[Trump 'orders US army chiefs to draw up plan to invade Greenland'](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15452323/Donald-Trump-orders-army-chiefs-plan-invade-Greenland-President.html)** > > Donald Trump has ordered his special forces commanders to draw up a plan for the invasion of Greenland - but is being resisted by senior military figures, The Mail on Sunday has learned. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/694 "2026-01-11T04:02:37Z")
Re last post, are there really sources in the White House that talk to the Daily Mail off the record? I think they prefer the New York Times because it makes them feel important. However, this could be. I presume the U.S. military has all sorts of plans for inadvisable missions. I’m alarmed about Greenland, but not more alarmed by that story. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/695 "2026-01-11T04:11:39Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Or they may close them down as fast as possible due to them being a security threat. May as in possible, I guess. One barrier is that Trumpy parties are polling distressingly well in Germany, France, and the UK. Another is that the national leaders are the opposite of reckless. They will hope against hope that the U.S. can bounce back. The Europeans know that if they tried to force the bases to close, Trump might then change his mind about them on the principle of not being pushed around. And closing those bases by force would be a tremendous military operation at a time when a lot of their weapons production goes to the Ukrainian front. Trump likes bombing. They cannot take the Is-Paris-Burning possibility of being bombed by the U.S. lightly. Better to let the U.S.keep the bases. Who knows, they could go back to being a tripwire against Russia some day. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2026, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/696 "2026-01-11T04:13:32Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Trump likes bombing. They cannot take the Is-Paris-Burning possibility of being bombed by the U.S. lightly. Better to let the U.S.keep the bases. Who knows, they could go back to being a tripwire against Russia some day. After Maduro, they also have to fear being _personally_ attacked. They can’t take the possibility of being kidnapped or killed in their beds lightly, either. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/697 "2026-01-11T15:00:06Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > The Europeans know that if they tried to force the bases to close, Trump might then change his mind about them on the principle of not being pushed around. It would be fun to watch the locals freeze U.S. forces out. Refuse to serve them, refuse to sell anything to them, refuse to talk to them or acknowledge them at all. Unless to issue citations for every moving violation they commit off-base, or for littering… I could imagine Trump ordering foreign leaders to make their people more friendly. There’s a line in a movie or a TV show where an authoritarian officer(?) is asked by his men, ‘What do you want?’ He says, ‘I want you to… like me.’ ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/698 "2026-01-11T15:29:42Z")
I think if the Europeans really wanted they could force the U.S. to close all or most of their bases, I doubt the U.S. is prepared to airlift supplies to all their bases constantly if the Europeans just close the roads and airports around them to U.S. supply traffic. BUT. The Europeans may not really want the bases gone, I believe they are important to the economy of the surrounding areas aaand they may want to wait and see the future post-Trump direction of the U.S. to evaluate if the bases can be understood as a security guarantee or the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/699 "2026-01-11T16:17:28Z")
“The Hill” is now just openly calling for Greenland to be conquered if Denmark won’t sell their land and their people like cattle. [https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5681672-greenland-power-politics-realism/](https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5681672-greenland-power-politics-realism/) Everyone who laughed this off has a lot of egg on their face. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/700 "2026-01-11T17:39:53Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “The Hill” is now just openly calling for Greenland to be conquered if Denmark won’t sell their land and their people like cattle. Googling, I see they published a few anti-takeover opinion articles last year. So it is not exactly that The Hill is calling for conquest, but that they take something so, well, evil, as just one opinion out of many. About a year ago, they published a [terrible but less evil proposal](https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5100335-trump-is-right-about-greenland-heres-how-to-get-it-done/) which I summarize as follows: Give the Greenlanders a choice between military takeover (not stated explicitly, but implied as I read it), becoming an unincorporated territory like Guam, and free association with the U.S., like the Federated States of Micronesia. And it implies Greenlanders would pick free association. If I was a Greenlander, free association with the United States sounds marginally worse than what I have now, but better than war with the U.S. With free association, Greenland gets to say it is an independent country, at least when Trump isn’t in the room. It gets a seat in the United Nations. And, if the association agreement is just like the existing ones, it gets to terminate the association with a one year notice – although I think they had better wait until there is a Democratic Party president to try that, and it may never make financial sense. A disadvantage is that they would have to switch from the Danish Krone to the almighty dollar. Another is that, even if Trump pledges to continue Denmark’s subsidies, you cannot count on that continuing. But I wonder if free association is how this will play out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691.md?page=36)