What's going on with the trump and Greenland/Canada/Panama

Trudeau is wildly unpopular and we have an election coming up this year; him resigning is the best chance we have of keeping the Conservatives out of office

Dane here

The change in coat of arms actually improved Greenlands position. They previously shared a square with the Faroe Islands. Both now have their own square

It could be seen as a move to please Greenland, as they have long been wanted independence, but they lack the economy for it

Trudeau's resignation and the forces leading up to it have been in motion for years, at best this was the straw that broke the camel's back, but everyone across the political spectrum has been thinking he should resign for at least a year now.

He hates Puerto Rico. And no republican supports making DC a state because it'd vote very firmly blue and they'd lose the senate for probably at least 6 years, until the next super R favorable cycle comes up again.

And fuck it, Alberta

It is a political question and therefore impossible to not awnser political

Trump wants to create a country in which the wealth of the nation is neither dependent on imports from other countries nor on the skilled workers within the nation

Why would you want that? Because setting up a more authoritarian government, where the government tells you what values, religions, and sexual orientation are acceptable is easier if neither your people nor other more liberal countries can stop you.

How would you achieve that? See Russia, have little complex labor and more simple or automated production. And rely on natural resources like gas and oil. Annex countries that have oil and gas but no strong military. I would assume both Canada and Greenland have gas reservoirs that are not used out if fears for environmental drawbacks. Trump could than use the fas without having to deal with disasters in his original borders

Assuming Trump acts logical, this annexation would help his goal while the negative relationships would not affect him strongly after he achieved it.

Or he just wants it because they said no, and he doesn't realize how much global relationships affect even countries that would prefer to ignore them

The arctic drilling rights that come attached to Greenland are worth trillions

Control of Panama ensures American trade continues if shit hits the fact over tariffs and a trade war (it's an American weak point that could be used as leverage if America don't control it). Not that there's going to be a trade war. But talking shit about it like you're preparing for it is all part of the tactic.

But also all of this is nonsense designed for two reasons i) Trump's negotiation tactic is based on the "Madman theory" which was also popular with Nixon. Basically make your opponent think you're unhinged and crazy and they're less inclined to call your bluff and you're more likely to achieve your goals in the compromise. and ii) he doesn't want anyone to be thinking or talking about the fact he's getting sentenced on 10th January

He wants these regions for the future where the polar ice caps melt, as they canada, Greenland and Panama will be/are major shipping routes. He's serious. You can't take it out of context. He wants these areas for greed.

next four years

People keep saying that, but there's a disturbingly strong chance that he'll still be President in February 2029.

I want very much to be wrong about that, but if I was a betting man I'd put money on it.

Go out and talk to randos in public. They dont know what's going on. They dont know who his picks even are. We're fucked.

The only potential reason I can see is that it could be strategicly useful as climate change makes the weather there more mild. Given that this is Trump, however, and Denmark (and thus Greenland) is currently an ally, it would make more sense that he read it Twitter or something and he repeated it.

It’s just posturing to project strength and appeal to his base who want a strongman dictator. He did actually talk about buying Greenland during his first term as well. It’s probably just because it’s somewhat near the US and could conceivably be acquired without starting a world war. Not that I think it will happen.

There's a funny "rumor" going around that Trump wants Greenland because of how huge it is (ie he has no idea what the Mercator projection is and thinks it's as big as Africa)