# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/141 "2025-01-09T22:38:04Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > In all fairness, you should discount the under-18s and the roughly 3 million in prison and not allowed to vote. And a couple more, probably. From abroad it seems closer to 50-50 than 75-25. In all fairness, I know more about my country than you do. 245 million eligible to vote. 77.3 million voted for him, 167 million DID NOT vote for him. Roughly a third of those eligible voted for him, not 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/142 "2025-01-09T22:45:48Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > In all fairness, I know more about my country than you do. > > 245 million eligible to vote. 77.3 million voted for him, 167 million DID NOT vote for him. Roughly a third of those eligible voted for him, not 50%. By the same token, _more_ than 167 million eligible voters didn’t vote for Kamala Harris. Would you conclude that all of those people regard her as a “national embarrassment”? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/143 "2025-01-09T22:57:20Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Would you conclude that all of those people regard her as a “national embarrassment”? No, I would conclude that 167 million were unable to endorse either Trump or Harris, whether out of ennui, apathy or embarrassment. It is notoriously unknowable (reliably) which factor attaches to which candidate by what percentage of inactive voters. ---
**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 9, 2025, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/144 "2025-01-09T23:03:32Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > In all fairness, I know more about my country than you do. Fair enough. \hijack ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/145 "2025-01-09T23:32:17Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > I only took a quick look, but **[Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/greenland-puts-an-end-unsuccessful-oil-adventure-2021-07-16/)** – citing a 2007 USGS estimate – pins the number at “up to 31.4 billion barrels.” I just used the Google AI result at the top of my search. But you’re right; the specific number is not what’s important. It’s that why would I sell 1/55000 (my share) of several trillion for 1 million? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/146 "2025-01-10T00:04:05Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > [ > This is one piece of the article that – without me looking further – seems superficially incongruous: > > > Oil exploration has taken place since the 1970s, involving major companies such as Shell (RDSa.L), Chevron (CVX.N), ExxonMobil (XOM.N), and Eni (ENI.MI), but most drilling came up dry. > > Hm. Swing and a miss? Wrong hole(s)? I did think ther was something wrong with the idea of Greenland having all these supposed riches and yet Denmark has to prop up their economy. The climate and ice pack must make resource extraction very expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/147 "2025-01-10T00:19:54Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > It’s that why would I sell 1/55000 (my share) of several trillion for 1 million? Because 1) it’s money in your pocket, not an oil company’s (it would be some kind of citizens’ wealth fund) and 2) it’s money now, that you can invest as you wish. Again, I absolutely do not think they should sell. I just don’t think these financial objections are that strong compared to just giving up their sovereignty. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/148 "2025-01-10T01:02:42Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > That’s how you handle a toddler that says dumb things. As much as I am against corporal punishment, if ever there was a toddler that needed a firm smack on the bottom and being sent to bed without any supper, that would be Trump. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/149 "2025-01-10T03:32:00Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Technically if Trump attacked Greenland every NATO member (including _Canada_ could be obligated to go to war with the US. Everyone thinks the NATO treaty requires instantly going to war; it actually doesn’t exactly say that. It says member countries must take “such action as they deem necessary,” which COULD include force. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/150 "2025-01-10T03:36:16Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > As much as I am against corporal punishment, if ever there was a toddler that needed a firm smack on the bottom and being sent to bed without any supper, that would be Trump. I agree, if you substitute “firm smack” with “cast iron frying pan”, and “bottom” with “fat head”. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/151 "2025-01-10T09:36:14Z")
Greenland has been a colony for 300 years. They are getting closer to real independence. I doubt they will go into a new colonial relation with someone that blind to their situation. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/152 "2025-01-10T10:53:53Z")
Is going to war with the country making the Ozempic really the best thing Donald can do for his base? ---
**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:** [January 10, 2025, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/153 "2025-01-10T11:50:52Z")
Can the country that makes Ozempic afford to piss off their biggest client? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/154 "2025-01-10T13:01:27Z")
The country easily, the company would take a hit. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/155 "2025-01-10T15:08:56Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > > In all fairness, I know more about my country than you do. > > Fair enough. \hijack Thank you. In return I’ll endeavor to ask you about your country and if I assume from afar, I hope you’ll call me out on it. Peace. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2025, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/156 "2025-01-10T15:19:32Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I did think ther was something wrong with the idea of Greenland having all these supposed riches and yet Denmark has to prop up their economy. The climate and ice pack must make resource extraction very expensive. Would you really want your backyard to basically be a large mining operation? This is not unique to Greenland. There are/were significant parts of the western part of the US that off limits by federal mandate to resource extraction, despite the likely presence of economic quantities of various resources. Much of the North Slope of Alaska, on the other hand, is open to oil and gas operations (not exactly warm and easy to work up there, I’ll note). And many, if not all, of the states involved get a lot more federal money than they pay in taxes. There have been and continue to be debates about that. On one side property owners, environmentalists, etc who want to preserve that land as it is. On the other, industrialists and so forth who argue the benefits of extracting those resources outweigh the costs. There’s nothing unique about that debate re: Greenland. The idea that because there are resources to be extracted implies that they should be or must be is not a given. And the argument that just because those resources have not yet been extracted implies some difficulty or high cost to do so is bunk. It’s not even a given in the US as it stands today. We know there are lumber, hydrocarbons, rare earths, and other resources in many places that we could extract, yet we don’t. And not due to the cost or difficulty in doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/157 "2025-01-10T15:24:35Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Thank you. In return I’ll endeavor to ask you about your country and if I assume from afar, I hope you’ll call me out on it. > > Peace. Boo, with diplomacy like that, you have my vote for Ambassador to the UN. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/158 "2025-01-10T15:42:49Z")
Maybe Trump’s strategy is to threaten to invade Greenland then not doing it so he’ll win the Nobel Peace Prize. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/159 "2025-01-10T16:38:31Z")
It frankly wouldn’t be the most bewildering issuance of that prize. As far as I can tell, recipients of _Nobels Fredspris_ are selected by random lottery drawn from a bowl of names selected by word cloud analysis of New York Post headlines. It is probably dumb luck that Rudy Giuliani isn’t a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2025, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691/160 "2025-01-11T08:06:49Z")
Trumps strategy is to flood the zone with shit to distract from his awful cabinet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-the-panama-canal-and-greenland/1012691.md?page=9)