# 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:** 55
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1081 "2026-07-12T19:39:15Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Greenland _is_ pretty big. Yeah, the last time we annexed that much territory was 1867 (Alaska). Since then, there’ve been a number of much smaller additions. Trivia question: who was President the last time more territory was added to the US? ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1082 "2026-07-12T19:47:04Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > > To Trump, Greenland is big. To Europeans, it is a 57,000 population microstate. It would not be, to them, worth going against a superpower, except in a small, almost symbolic, way. > > The symblism of the USA taking over a NATO member by force would not be in any way minor. Indeed. A US attack on a NATO member would in no way be minor. It would be the end of NATO, full stop. Europe isn’t going to shrug its shoulders, pretend that it didn’t happen and go about business as usual. It will cause an irreversible schism between the US and Europe that the US handing it back in 2029 with an “oops, sorry about that” isn’t going to fix. That the US attacking a fellow NATO nation to seize its territory by force is something that is seriously being discussed is frankly absolutely fucking insane. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1083 "2026-07-12T20:30:38Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Trivia question: who was President the last time more territory was added to the US? Reagan, with the Northern Mariana Islands? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1084 "2026-07-12T20:32:29Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Reagan, with the Northern Mariana Islands? Yup, in 1986. ETA: the time before that was the Virgin Islands in 1917 under Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1085 "2026-07-12T21:16:54Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > That the US attacking a fellow NATO nation to seize its territory by force is something that is seriously being discussed is frankly absolutely fucking insane. Well, Trump never made his disdain of NATO a secret; the narrative of “we’re subsidizing Europe, they need to pull their weight” regardless of whether that’s true or not. Remember, Trump’s basic m.o. is if you aren’t screwing someone over, you’re the one getting screwed. Some pundits even suggest that it would be better for Europe to be independent of American foreign policy, albeit by far less traumatic means. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1086 "2026-07-16T16:37:05Z")
Anyway the war with Iran has started for the… seventh time? Hell, who knows? Which further pushes off other imperialist designs. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1087 "2026-07-16T17:14:18Z")
Nothing new about taking back the Panama canal? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1088 "2026-07-16T17:17:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Anyway the war with Iran has started for the… seventh time? > **[Analysis: How many times has Trump claimed an Iran deal is around the corner?...](https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/09/politics/times-trump-iran-deal-close)** > > It’s been more than two months since President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, saying at the time that the two sides were close to a deal. > [@](#): > > Including the period before the ceasefire, he’s done it at least 38 times. That’s the number of times he’s said directly — in social media posts, public appearances and phone calls with the media — that a deal was nigh or claimed Iran was desperate to cut one. Note the date: 9 June. So the number of “ceasefires” is probably over 50 by now. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1089 "2026-07-16T17:25:10Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Anyway the war with Iran has started for the… seventh time? Hell, who knows? Which further pushes off other imperialist designs. This makes some sense. Resources are limited, so if you are fighting one war, there is more left over for another. But: – Kharg Island is tropical. The resources needed to fight Iran, such as desert-trained troops, do not greatly overlap those needed to grab Greenland. – In 1941, Japan, bogged down in China, attacked the U.S. Isn’t Trump at least as crazy? I’ll allow that Trump is a little less likely to launch an arctic adventure while fighting Iran. However, we are getting towards the part of the year – late summer – when risk to Greenland goes up. I do not know how far to push my prediction here. I can say – the arguments against the risk to Greenland being high are weak. Two days ago: [Trump makes fresh threats to Canada and Greenland with provocative photo on his social media platform](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-makes-fresh-threats-canada-210400632.html) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1090 "2026-07-20T14:51:35Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > In 1941, Japan, bogged down in China, attacked the U.S. Isn’t Trump at least as crazy? That’s a good example of fighting two wars with different stuff. The Navy resources committed to attacking the US wouldn’t have had much effect in the war with China. That was mostly an Army thing. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1091 "2026-07-22T22:10:38Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > That’s a good example of fighting two wars with different stuff. The Navy resources committed to attacking the US wouldn’t have had much effect in the war with China. That was mostly an Army thing. Japan before and into World War II made Trump’s USA look like Switzerland in terms of capable governance and efficiency of the apparatus of state. It is difficult to overstate how dysfunctional their government was. It’s remarkable they were able to conduct a theatre-level war at all. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1092 "2026-07-24T15:16:35Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I could see Canada actually closing the border between themselves and the U.S., and to perhaps even start mobilizing for war. Because they would surely be thinking they might be next. The border is just too big for this to be practical, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1093 "2026-07-24T15:36:32Z")
Canada will build a wall, and the US will pay for it! ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1094 "2026-07-24T16:07:39Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > > [@robby](#): > > > > I could see Canada actually closing the border between themselves and the U.S., and to perhaps even start mobilizing for war. Because they would surely be thinking they might be next. > > The border is just too big for this to be practical, sadly. I’m talking about shutting down all border crossings, not stationing troops along the entire border. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1095 "2026-07-24T19:27:21Z")
They’re opening a new crossing today: the Gordie Howe Bridge in Detroit-Windsor. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1096 "2026-07-24T19:33:17Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > They’re opening a new crossing today: the Gordie Howe Bridge in Detroit-Windsor. Yes, and…? The context of my comment was the potential likelihood of Canada closing all border crossings with the U.S. if the U.S. were to conduct an unprovoked military invasion of Greenland. And thanks to Trump, relations between our two countries are so poor that Canada cancelled plans for a celebratory grand opening of the new bridge. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1097 "2026-07-24T19:37:06Z")
> [@robby](#): > > The context of my comment was the potential likelihood of Canada closing all border crossings with the U.S. if the U.S. were to conduct an unprovoked military invasion of Greenland. They’re obviously not anticipating closing any border crossings, if they’re opening new ones. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1098 "2026-07-24T19:46:12Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > > [@robby](#): > > > > The context of my comment was the potential likelihood of Canada closing all border crossings with the U.S. if the U.S. were to conduct an unprovoked military invasion of Greenland. > > They’re obviously not anticipating closing any border crossings, if they’re opening new ones. I completely disagree. First off, construction on the bridge in question was started years ago. Secondly, the U.S. has so far not taken any overt hostile action against Greenland (or Canada). But if it did take action against Greenland, the proverbial shit would hit the fan. And you can close off a border crossing all but instantaneously. Give the order; stop permitting all crossings. That’s it. (You can also reopen it just as fast.) Yes, closing the border would be highly disruptive. But so is a potential military invasion. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1099 "2026-07-24T19:49:37Z")
For what it’s worth, the Gordie Howe bridge opening ceremony took place with no U.S. representation. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1100 "2026-07-24T19:54:52Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > For what it’s worth, the Gordie Howe bridge opening ceremony took place with no U.S. representation. Exactly. Current relations are _not_ good…which is a crying shame. What is wrong with our country? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691.md?page=54) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691.md?page=56)