# Why threatening to go to war with Denmark may be a bad idea **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 20, 2026, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838 "2026-01-20T03:32:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**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:** [January 22, 2026, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/121 "2026-01-22T04:02:00Z")
Trump was never going to invade. He’s too chickenshit to pick a fight with anyone who can fight back, because soldiers coming home in flag-draped coffins looks bad on TV and that’s the one thing his dementia-addled mind is still savvy about. The Greenlanders are armed and wouldn’t have any problem with fighting back, and Secretary Rutte likely explained to him, in strenuous detail during their closed door meeting today, the ways Europe would be able to cripple the US militarily and financially. He was bluffing to try to scare NATO into giving him what he wanted, and they called his bluff. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/122 "2026-01-22T04:34:16Z")
I don’t understand what military force Greenland, and Denmark could fight back with. If forced. If Nato tried to jump in with lots of other nations Armys, doesn’t USA have all the power there? Veto power or something? ---
**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 22, 2026, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/123 "2026-01-22T04:36:47Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > If Nato tried to jump in with lots of other nations Armys, doesn’t USA have all the power there? Veto power or something? Do you think that if Trump (America) attacks a NATO member that NATO still exists as far as American participation goes? ---
**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:** [January 22, 2026, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/124 "2026-01-22T04:47:55Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I don’t understand what military force Greenland, and Denmark could fight back with. If forced. > > If Nato tried to jump in with lots of other nations Armys, doesn’t USA have all the power there? The US has a lot of bases in NATO territory. Is it prepared to defend all of them at once? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/125 "2026-01-22T04:51:14Z")
Oh ok. Thanks for the info. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/126 "2026-01-22T04:52:01Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Trump was never going to invade. He’s too chickenshit to pick a fight with anyone who can fight back It is hard for anyone, including Trump, to know if the Danes and/or Greenlanders would really fight back. The safe thing is to assume Trump will bring threats to Greenland up again, in 6-12 months, and then be even more serious. An exception could be if he has switched attention to Panama. > [@Smapti](#): > > The Greenlanders are armed and wouldn’t have any problem with fighting back Most are not armed per Wikipedia. Unlike Denmark, Greenland remains without conscription. I doubt Denmark would long do for Greenlanders what they won’t do for themselves. > [@Smapti](#): > > Secretary Rutte likely explained to him, in strenuous detail during their closed door meeting today, the ways Europe would be able to cripple the US militarily and financially. AFAIK, we have no evidence of that. We do have evidence of what European leaders say publicly, and it is nothing like that. Telling the strongman commander of the world’s strongest military that you can cripple his country militarily is a good way to start a war you will lose. I am confident Mark Rutte was tactful when talking with DJT. ---
**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 22, 2026, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/127 "2026-01-22T05:09:23Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Most are not armed per Wikipedia. They’re the eleventh most heavily armed country on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/128 "2026-01-22T05:52:37Z")
> [@MacDoc](#): > > I get the distinct impression the dumpf just blinked But the “master negotiator” did get something; He blew up the EU trade deal and the framework of the deal with the UK. Added bonus; many countries are now dumping US treasuries. Great deal Donnie! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/129 "2026-01-22T05:53:49Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > And he says that there is a “framework” for a deal that is acceptable to him. Does he get TACOs with this deal? A framework? Is it a breakfast meeting to discuss the agenda for a plan for a framework of a potential deal? ---
**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:** [January 22, 2026, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/130 "2026-01-22T05:56:36Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > A framework? Is it a breakfast meeting to discuss the agenda for a plan for a framework of a potential deal? “I have twelve percent of a plan!” [![](https://i.redd.it/its-barely-a-concept-v0-ovu6vccapdod1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b62825ceb068bfadf09e94cdebef21f398996311) ](https://i.redd.it/its-barely-a-concept-v0-ovu6vccapdod1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b62825ceb068bfadf09e94cdebef21f398996311) ---
**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 22, 2026, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/131 "2026-01-22T06:08:32Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > His inner circle has likely made billions from insider trading on this “news” . I originally said he “taco’d”, but now I think you are correct. He is only thinking about the Benjamins. How does he make himself richer? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/132 "2026-01-22T08:16:05Z")
1. Cause a crisis shaking investor confidence so that prices of investments deemed risky will drop 2. Buy up reduced-price investments 3. “Solve” crisis 4. Sell off investments now magically worth more. In theory, that is ---
**Author:** ![FriendOfRoland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friendofroland/32/20626_2.png) [@FriendOfRoland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendOfRoland)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/133 "2026-01-22T15:49:27Z")
So, I was limited yesterday, as a newbie, to only three posts… I truly hope it comes down that way, the claim of a concession and all, and I hope he does chalk it up as endo #9, or whatever! To many, the actual method to the ”madness” will never matter. To the rest, however, _THEY_ will just enjoy watching the heads explode! ---
**Author:** ![FriendOfRoland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friendofroland/32/20626_2.png) [@FriendOfRoland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendOfRoland)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/134 "2026-01-22T16:23:58Z")
Well, I suppose one could say that, if one were intent on “pain shopping” and chose to deliberately ignore everything positive that had come out of resolving whatever this imaginary quarrel was with NYC. But, here in the real world, I don’t know… I feel pretty good this morning. Seems that the NATO chief feels pretty good, too. Seems that a whole lot of the actual players feel pretty good, except sideliners like Governor Newsom and others NOT in the arena, those who consistently and willingly allow themselves to be “led astray” by negativity, by weeks (actually years) of anti-Trump and ultimately anti-American propaganda. Yeah… I feel pretty good, and I’m gonna run with that. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/135 "2026-01-22T16:49:09Z")
Did someone hammer out a slightly altered agreement with Denmark over our ability to use Greenland? Possibly? I don’t actually know because all we get are grandiose tweets. Did we have to enter the World Economic Forum with a couple of weeks of sabre rattling, accusations against our NATO allies, threats of tariffs, offers of payments, implied annexation of both Canada and Greenland, in order to hammer out a slightly altered agreement to update something we signed 75 years ago and have updated regularly since? JFC, of course not! It is exactly this insanity that is eroding our allies trust. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/136 "2026-01-22T16:49:56Z")
> [@FriendOfRoland](#): > > Who cares? It’s the content that matters. You know, you’re right! The ‘Art of the Deal’ story is a perfect encapsulation of trump’s entire lifelong persona. The ghostwriter, Tony Shwartz, tried interviewing trump, but found trump had no attention span and basically wanted nothing to do with helping to write it. So Shwartz asked to listen in on trump’s business calls to get a sense of him. And what Shwartz discovered was that trump’s entire business career was based on bullshit and bravado. When he interviewed the people on the other end of those phone calls, he heard much different stories about deals than the ones trump told, and not for the better. So what he basically ended up writing was an almost entirely fictional tale of a tough, shrewd, successful businessman. To slightly paraphrase Shakespeare, trump’s ‘autobiography’ is “a tale told ~~by~~ _about_ an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. > **[Tony Schwartz | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site | Documentary Series](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/interview/tony-schwartz/)** ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/137 "2026-01-22T16:59:04Z")
So, you’re good with the whole “arsonist as firefighter” schtick? I’m not. I’d also like to see who profited through stock transactions over the last week or two. Insanity and instability may explain his ‘unconventional negotiating style,’ but – to be fair – so might unbridled grift. I guess we can agree to disagree here, too. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/138 "2026-01-22T17:04:58Z")
Of course, we have yet to see any signed and sealed documents relating exactly what will and will not happen. And then whether T sticks with the deal, or finds some Putin-manufactured evidence to prompt him to pull out or say he never agreed with it in the first place (see for comparison his and Rubio’s statements on Chagos/Diego Garcia). ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/139 "2026-01-22T18:50:59Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > JFC, of course not! It is exactly this insanity that is eroding our allies trust. From Paul Krugman’s substack today: > American power and influence have always rested, much more than many people realize, on the perception of American trustworthiness. We didn’t always do the right thing, but we honored our agreements and were the least greedy imperial power in history. > > That’s all over. At Davos, Mark Carney called for giving up hope that the Pax Americana can be restored, and Donald Trump proved him right. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838/140 "2026-01-22T19:27:08Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Of course, we have yet to see any signed and sealed documents relating exactly what will and will not happen. I’m of the opinion that there is no deal, there never was a deal, there never even was a “framework of a deal”. I think this was just another example of TACO. He was told at some point that his bullshit strutting bravado was not going to work, so he tweeted some more bullshit just to save face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-threatening-to-go-to-war-with-denmark-may-be-a-bad-idea/1026838.md?page=8)