‘The View’ co-host Ana Navarro-Cárdenas thinks she knows why Trump is obsessing over a Panama Canal seizure

In the weeks since he secured a demoralizing victory in the 2024 election, Donald Trump has been ramping up the rhetoric to previously-unforeseen levels.

We’ve all seen him reach frequent new lows with his toxic commentary on everyone from his former allies to his opponents, but at least that was all domestic. It doesn’t make the threats, the mockery, the petulance, or the mindless ranting any more presidential, but at least its not putting the country at risk of an international dispute.

This time around, as newscasters across the nation promise he’ll be “better” this time because he has nothing to lose, Trump is serving up the opposite. His latest threats zero in on far more concerning targets, including the Panama Canal, and The View‘s Ana Navarro-Cárdenas is pretty sure she knows why.

In the last few weeks alone, Trump has levied threats at Canada, Greenland, and now Panama with his alarming chatter about retaking the Panama Canal. As is the case with Canada — no, Donnie, “many” Canadians do not want their country to become a U.S. state — Panama citizens were immediately incensed at Trump’s attempt at intimidation, and the nation’s President, José Raúl Mulino, quickly pushed back on Trump’s bravado.

He’s already shut the idea soundly down, but Trump — in classic toddler fashion — isn’t taking the hint. He’s continued to levy threats, and Navarro-Cárdenas may have pinned down why. She shared, in an instantly-popular post to social media, that Trump has a clear selfish motivation to target Panama. Unsurprisingly for perhaps the biggest tax-dodger of a generation, Trump and his companies are now on the hook for “intentionally” evading taxes for a 70-story high rise that used to be managed by Trump companies.

The new owners of the building claimed “two Trump companies failed to pay Panamanian taxes equal to 12.5% of the management fees they drew from the hotel,” according to ProPublica. Rather than put money aside for the taxes, Trump and his companies simply pocketed it, “thus intentionally evading taxes.”

That’s not even the extent of it, but it is the primary point being brought up in an ongoing lawsuit in Manhattan federal court. Trump is predictably avoiding comment on the matter, but its yet another messy business entanglement that muddies the waters of Trump’s continued political career.

Navarro-Cárdenas’ observation is almost certainly accurate, given Trump’s notoriously underhanded nature. His pre-political career is a minefield of illegal dealings and questionable foreign relations, and he’s spent nearly every moment of his time in power working to downplay the many conflicts of interest weighing him down.

Panama is just the latest, but it certainly won’t be the last. And, despite the exposing nature of Navarro-Cárdenas’ post, it won’t slow him down one bit. Sure, he’ll deny that it’s true, but it’s becoming increasingly clear to anyone with eyes and at least two working brain cells that Trump aims to use the power of the presidency to bully his way out of trouble. If individuals, businesses, or entire countries push back, he’ll just serve up massive, earth-shaking threats and work to cow them into silence. It’s the Trump way.