This whole Trump-Canada-Greenland, is it…actually possible in today’s world? Sounds unreal to me that he even posted this on facebook, I assume there is no reality to it realistically speaking

http://Www.donaldtrump.com

Posted by Sugar_Vivid

27 comments

  1. The Northern Mariana Islands were annexed by the US in 1976 after series of referendums held across the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. It’s absolutely possible … it just has to be done in a democratic manner.

  2. Russia is actively trying to claim Ukraine by force.

    Anything is possible.

  3. I saw an astute comment the other day which has reshaped the way I view these sorts of comments by Trump et al.

    Essentially, they’re smoke grenades. He doesn’t actually intend on doing any of this stuff – at least not to the extent that he’s suggesting – but he knows it will cause people to be majorly distracted from the actual shady shit he’s doing away from the public eye.

    I think it’s likely there’s at least some truth to it.

  4. I do not even understand where this Canad,Greenland thing even comes from. Is it purely a sign of mental derangement? This is total drunks in a bar talk. Somebody explain this to me.

  5. He is trying to change the discourse. He doesnt want people talking about the special counsel report

  6. Having worked extensively with the US Army and USMC, I imagine he would be met by a firm “No Mr President that won’t happen”.

    Senior Officers are smart people who care about their allies – Trump has already alienated a lot of the military leadership by slagging them all off.

  7. NATO is obligated to response to aggressors with Nuclear deterrence.

    If NATO nations hold up their end, the annexation attempt results in America being nuked into rubble.

    So, If it’s possible, that means every NATO nation just breaks the alliance. That would be the absolute end of Liberal Internationalism in foreign policy and the begining of a new realist era of Dog eat dog power struggles where nuclear powers engage in warfare against non nuclear powers with impunity.

  8. The fact trump and musk wanted to increase immigration was about to explode and they’re both going full on crazy to cover it up and make people forget about it

  9. It’s real. If you haven’t noticed, the world is warming up. Looking north is prime real estate. If you think the USA is a rules based country, you’re sorely deluded and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Some people scream and yell and act all scary, while others smile and sign pretty little documents and seem civilized. But at the core there isn’t much of a difference. Remember we’re all animals fighting each other for resources and living space. Don’t get fooled by the illusions.

  10. But there is nothing to negotiate unless he is saying what’s mine is mine what’s yours is negotiable.

  11. America isn’t going to forcibly annex Canada, Greenland, or the Panama Canal, it’s all sound and fury from Trump to get diplomatic leverage on them later on.

  12. Do a quick google search for “world map 1900”. Then search for 1800. Then 1700. If you want to talk about what’s realistic, realistic is that borders change based upon the will of those with power and what the lengths they’re prepared to go.

    The world has changed, yes, but that does not mean we have arrived at any sort of stable configuration of power or borders. Frankly, things remaining as they are now would be historically unprecedented. Doesn’t make this any less stupid… But it certainly is realistic.

  13. Trump is filling up all the available news slots with this outrageous bullshit knowing the news media will pick it up and spend a bunch of their air time and content space for it pushing out more relevant things he doesn’t want you to be thinking about.

  14. Normalizing taking another country’s sovereign land just like china and Russia are trying to do to Ukraine and Taiwan. Only helping Russia and china by doing the same.

  15. Tl;dr at the bottom, for a more indepth analysis;

    Is it strictly possible? Yes, the United States military could quite comfortably annex by force Canada, Greenland and Panama, likely simultaneously as well.

    Is it actually realistic? That’s the real question.
    The biggest threat posed by Trump is that we no longer what ‘realistic’ is. Politicians conform to political norms by the threat of either prison or political suicide. Trump has clearly demonstrated his ability to avert both. Time and time again Trump has demonstrated his capacity to avoid political scandal. If it was any other politician who treats women the way Trump does, it’d be the death of their professional careers. His iron fist on the Republican Party and his capacity to flip-flop on official positions and blatantly lie to his supporters means he does have broad political immunity.

    Biggest problem with Trump is we do not know when he’s being serious, or when he’s using a Trumpian exaggeration. This is where we begin to get into the murky waters. We can very comfortably say Canada is staying sovereign. That part is pretty clear and this is likely just Trump fanning the flames to get negotiation concessions with trade & defence. We will likely see big rifts form between Canada & the United States, we won’t see their outright annexation.

    Panama is slightly more tricky. He is absolutely right that the Panama Canal represents a national security threat, to what extent can be debated. It’s not an active threat (Chinese soldiers aren’t manning the canal), but if annexed by a hostile actor, it absolutely would be one. To my knowledge, all (official) US Military installations within Panama were turned over to Panama in the 90s. I would not be surprised if Trump pushed forward with opening US Military installations within Panama. Whether this is allowed (i.e. Whether treaties prohibit this) I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a strategic goal of Trump.

    Greenland is very interesting. He did voice desires to annex Greenland in his 2017-2021 administration. That has been an interest, it does actually form a very critical, very real security threat for the US through the GIUK Gap (Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap, the route Russian submarines would take to cause chaos in the northern atlantic). A lot of resources have been put into protecting and monitoring the gap, Trump may seek to annex and take a more firm role in the gap, partly for vanity (expanding US Territory would certainly give him a lasting legacy) but also strategy. And of course, Don Jr has actually visited Greenland (hardly a coincidence it happened after all of this). So I wouldn’t be surprised if Canada & Panama are distractions when Trump’s real goal is annexing Greenland.

    However, none of these countries have genuine desires to be US territories. The US may expand their presence or dominance of these territories, but I am doubtful Trump will expand the territory of the United States.

    **Tl;DR**

    Impossible to say with certainty what Trump will end up doing. Especially since he’s got a much stronger grip on the Republicans this time around, and doesn’t have a third term to worry about.

    Canada is the least likely of the 3 and this is probably just a negotiation tactic. The population size alone (10x the size of Panama, 800x the size of Greenland) makes this very unlikely, along with being a very active player in the world. This is probably a negotiation tactic for concessions on trade & defence.
    Panama is slightly more realistic, but its international importance makes it equally unlikely. This might be a push to get the US Military back in Panama, but again, not a target for annexation.

    Greenland is the most realistic of the 3, very small population (50,000) makes it much easier logistically. The national security concerns are more real, the arrival of Don Jr in Greenland and the fact Trump has voiced similar desires in the past means he might be more serious. But this also isn’t something that’s very likely to happen.

    In all, I am doubtful we’ll see an expansion of US territory. But we will see an expansion of US dominance amongst the America’s.

  16. Whether it’s possible or not I think it intentionally or unintentionally serves two purposes:
    – Weaken the strength of Americas alliances with its western allies.
    – Distract from the H1B visa issue

  17. People often say history repeats itself, and it seems to be true in the ongoing conflicts. These wars are primarily driven by resource scarcity, and Canada, with its substantial resource base, including water, is a prime target. Trump, like other world leaders, appears to be harboring ambitions to expand the size of the US.

    Furthermore, I would like to explore Canada’s options. Honestly, Canada has none. If Trump decides to take action, whether through force or economic means, Canada is in trouble.

    Additionally, Trump is known for his big talk, and I recall him making numerous statements but not taking concrete actions. Therefore, it’s possible that this could be the case as well. However, I remain open to both possibilities.

  18. Ten years ago you’d never have thought a POS like trump could be elected President. Yet here we are.

    I like to think, perhaps naively, that the US government has enough checks and balances that would stop these idiotic suggestions from this moron ever being acted upon.

  21. It’s unlikely but we’ve entered a new era. Honestly nothing would surprise me.

  22. It’s not impossible under certain circumstances but it is highly unrealistic that Trump would utilize military force to annex Canada or Greenland absent a major global conflict that presented an immediate and significant threat to US national security. (Think direct conflict with China or Russia)

    And under those circumstances, I would hope any president would take whatever action necessary to protect US national security interests. That being said, if there was a national desire to join the US, and there was a referendum in those countries that won popular support to join the US, Trump would likely back it but he would need popular support among the 50 states to bring them on as a state.

    I’m not sure what would be required to make them federal territories like Puerto Rico, but I would think that is the more plausible scenario since attaining statehood is a rather difficult process. In either case, absent a global war, it would definitely be a democratic process that required the consent of those electorates to join the Union.

  23. and just like that the media isn’t talking about Trump’s criminal record or Ukraine….

  25. it doesn’t make a lot of sense to physically invade Canada. The US could do it, but it would completely tie up their military for a decade. This would also result in the collapse of NATO and potentially expansion of the war to involve the UK and EU backing up Canada. Public opinion would swing wildly against administration.

    Now the US doesn’t need to do a full-scale invasion. They could also launch a “police action” to control the Canadian border. Install martial law around border crossings etc. Sort of like Crimea.

    But these aren’t the only options. The US could instead pressure Canada to become a vassal state or even a Puerto Rico-style protectorate. It would be far less costly in time, money and lives to install a puppet government.

    If the US were to take control of Canadian government institutions they could then pressure a referendum on joining the US. But the logistics of admitting Canada as one or more states could take decades.

  26. Has everyone already forgotten 2016-2020? The man is going to say the wildest things to get attention and stay in the headlines every day for the next four years. Most of it will be complete nonsense. Of course we’re not acquiring Canada and/or Greenland.

  27. Is it military possible yes. Is it gonna happen though, most likely not. This is just Trump trying to get the spotlight and do a little trolling, look how fast the H1B topic disappeared.

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