# 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:** 59
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1161 "2026-09-03T13:02:57Z")
Might just piss him off. Trump is completely delusional. He might do anything. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1162 "2026-09-03T13:04:26Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If someone is bringing this to Trump’s attention, I think it could really reduce the chances of a U.S. invasion. But why would Trump care? ---
**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:** [September 3, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1163 "2026-09-03T13:09:44Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Denmark has compulsory military service? The article answers my question: > The Nordic country’s programme operates as a ballot system for all healthy young adults who turn 18, but has for many years consisted ⁠almost ​entirely of volunteers, with the lottery used only to ​fill remaining quotas. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1164 "2026-09-03T13:22:33Z")
The question is, do they have enough troops to defend strategic assets like ports, oil fields, etc? It is not like Denmark can field an entire army. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1165 "2026-09-03T13:25:28Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > > If someone is bringing this to Trump’s attention, I think it could really reduce the chances of a U.S. invasion. > > But why would Trump care? The same reason he hasn’t invaded Kharg Island. He is casualty adverse. So the more plausible it seems that the Danes and Greenlanders would seriously resist a U.S. invasion, the less likely Trump is to do it. While committing conscripts does not have a big pure military significance, it is an easy to understand sign of determination. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1166 "2026-09-03T13:37:04Z")
There are not many strategic assets in Greenland to defend. Oil fields? No need to defend those, they are small _and_ far away. Ports? Air fields? Just mine them. Let them come. And then enjoy the logistic nightmare. Winter is coming. BTW, just as a reminder: The USA had access to anything they wanted in Greenland, they only had to ask. Military bases? They gave them up themselves because they had no use for then anymore, but could have revived them anytime. Oil fields? Foreign direct investment by the USA was regarded as a good thing. Threatening annexation and military action is one of the twenty or so most stupid things Chieftain Ineptstein has done in the last 20 months. Vicious, petty, unnecessary, ridiculous, counter-productive, and just plain wrong. I know we agree on that, but it bears repeating and pointing out again and again. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1167 "2026-09-03T14:15:44Z")
If the U.S. truly wants Greenland and is willing to pay the price in blood and treasure there is nothing anyone in the world can do to stop them from taking it. Of course “The U.S.” is not willing to pay that price, is just Trump being just his usual bloviating self. We can only hope that Trump TACOs again and nobody has to die in order for the U.S. to realize they don’t really want Greenland that much. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1168 "2026-09-03T22:17:57Z")
More threats against Canada too, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1169 "2026-09-03T22:56:33Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > We can only hope that Trump TACOs again and nobody has to die in order for the U.S. to realize they don’t really want Greenland that much. Few in this thread will agree, but I think we’re at the point where we can take for granted that Trump won’t order an invasion of Greenland (and for sure not Canada). I understand that it can be dangerous to assume anything about a lunatic’s next move. It’s more a vibe than something I can prove out logically on a whiteboard. I also don’t think “_but Venezuela!_” is a compelling comparison. Again, a vibe without hard logic on my part. No one should necessarily feel comforted by me expressing an expectation based on the direction of the wind. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1170 "2026-09-04T00:23:29Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I think we’re at the point where we can take for granted that Trump won’t order an invasion of Greenland (and for sure not Canada). Not for granted but that’s the way to bet surely. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1171 "2026-09-05T06:10:40Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Few in this thread will agree, but I think we’re at the point where we can take for granted that Trump won’t order an invasion of Greenland (and for sure not Canada). Trump went crazier today, sorry. He is working up to invasion, saying he’ll now cut cut off trade unless the Federal Reserve does his bidding. The implications of this are staggering. Invasion is absolutely on the table. ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1172 "2026-09-05T17:38:43Z")
I want to say this carefully, in the hopes of not drawing a warning. Which I might get. Such is life. I have been on the SDMB, off and on, for, I think, 20 years. @RickJay is not a catastrophist. He is, in fact, kind of a boring Canadian (Windsor, I think?). He tends to calm things down, not escalate (weren’t you a moderator?) Trump can’t invade Canada or Greenland. It’s suicide. I don’t think he could really invade Panama (what’s he going to do? Send the USS Abraham Lincoln?), but I’m not sure. But if a phlegmatic Canadian like him (no shade, you kind of are both) is saying this, it’s long past time to turn the rhetoric down several notches. This is no longer “country bangs it’s chest to impress every one” and into…I don’t even know what. This is the point in a bar fight when your friends decide escorting you out is better than anything else that could happen. Americans. It’s time to be friends to your president. I don’t _think_ invasion is on the table. I think the fact that we have to discuss it is insane. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1173 "2026-09-05T17:58:12Z")
> [@bashere](#): > > I don’t think he could really invade Panama (what’s he going to do? Send the USS Abraham Lincoln?), but I’m not sure. Invading Panama wouldn’t be a huge operation for the USA. The 1989 invasion was pulled off primarily with airborne troops. They wouldn’t need a fleet carrier at all. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1174 "2026-09-05T18:02:32Z")
> [@bashere](#): > > Americans. It’s time to be friends to your president Good grief, _why??_ Haven’t you seen how he treats his “friends?” ---
**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:** [September 5, 2026, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1175 "2026-09-05T18:40:10Z")
It’ll go as smoothly as the Iran war has, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1176 "2026-09-05T19:31:11Z")
> [@bashere](#): > > Trump can’t invade Canada or Greenland. It’s suicide. I do not see a similarity of difficulty in the two when it comes to invasion. And I think the word suicide here is so figurative here as to be meaningless. > [@bashere](#): > > I don’t think he could really invade Panama (what’s he going to do? Send the USS Abraham Lincoln?), but I’m not sure. I am not sure of any of this. But unless I am missing something, Trump has stopped threatening to invade Panama. If I see otherwise, I will post here. > [@bashere](#): > > I don’t _think_ invasion is on the table. I think the fact that we have to discuss it is insane. Putting a probability percent on whether any given country is going to invade any other within any given timeframe is impossible. But we do know that invasions across international lines occur pretty often. They have occurred dozens of times in my lifetime (age 71). And when a country’s leadership threatens it, invasion become more likely. Such threats interest me enough to post them, especially if my own country’s leadership is doing the threatening. The U.S. isn’t all bad. But as countries go, it does invade a lot. And that was back when we were more of a solid democracy. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2026, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1177 "2026-09-05T19:36:34Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > [@bashere](#): > > > > Trump can’t invade Canada or Greenland. It’s suicide. > > I do not see a similarity of difficulty in the two when it comes to invasion. And I think the word suicide here is so figurative here as to be meaningless Figurative suicide but realistic destruction of the post WWII Western alliance, especially NATO. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1178 "2026-09-05T19:51:31Z")
> [@bashere](#): > > Americans. It’s time to be friends to your president I am friends with people who behave as friends to me. Trump is not a friend to me. He has been behaving like an enemy to me (and a worse one to a lot of other people, many of them also USA citizens.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1179 "2026-09-05T20:26:31Z")
> [@bashere](#): > > This is the point in a bar fight when your friends decide escorting you out is better than anything else that could happen. > > Americans. It’s time to be friends to your president. I appreciate your thoughts on this, but the issue is that not only do we not want to be “friends” with our president, but Trump does not actually have anyone who is legitimately a friend. He views all relationships with other human beings as transactional. Even before this term, and his clear cognitive decline, he has always been a man of preening ego, who operates under the delusion that he is a super-genius, and that he can accomplish anything he desires purely by his force of will and “negotiating skills.” He will not listen to people who will try to talk him out of things that he sets his mind to (and this has always been the case) – and I suspect that part of the problem now is that he’s surrounded by sycophants, and people who are manipulating him for their own agendas. Nothing short of removing him from office (close to impossible, given the constitutional mechanisms to do so, and the spinelessness of his own party), or his death or clearly-total incapacitation, can stop this. Which is horrifying. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/1180 "2026-09-05T20:37:48Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#): > > > [@bashere](#): > > > > Americans. It’s time to be friends to your president > > Good grief, _why??_ Haven’t you seen how he treats his “friends?” @bashere was making an analogy. The bar room brawler’s friends escort him outside. Let us be as the bar room brawler’s friends toward Trump, and escort him out of the government. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691.md?page=58) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691.md?page=60)