MILLIONS of Trumpists truly believe this, yes.
There isn’t. Sorry, I don’t for the life of me understand why people keep saying this; how is it not obvious by now that he’s a cult figure? Did you know it’s becoming common for Trumpists to call him “Daddy?”
I want to return to a world where that statement is ridiculous hyperbole.
Meanwhile …
Trump has announced 10% tariffs on all goods from a number of European countries including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland until “such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the US. On 1st June it will be raised to 25%.
This is a very convenient distraction from Epstein and Ukraine.
Time for the rest of the world to cut off the US until the nutcase is gone (never gonna happen but hey)
Krugman’s brief Substack today:
The Stupidest Trump Move So Far
Just kill me now. Or tariff me. Whatever.
…
Some quick thoughts, in no particular order:
· European deterrence has worked. This is basically a howl of frustration on the part of a mad dictator who has just realized that he can’t send in the Marines
· A tariff to promote territorial expansion is clearly illegal, under any sane interpretation of U.S. trade law. This is on the Supreme Court, which is obviously dithering while the world burns
· Trump thinks, or at least wants to believe, that tariffs are a Veg-O-Matic policy that can accomplish all goals. They slice! They dice! They eliminate budget deficits! They reindustrialize! They intimidate foreigners!
· These are nations that allegedly made trade deals with Trump. They’ve just learned what they should have known from the beginning: a deal with Trump lasts until he feels like breaking it
· Greenland? We’re going to demolish what’s left of our credibility for Greenland?
Accompanied by this striking picture:
Look, I know it’s not much, but we’re looking for any sign of life in this critically ill democracy.
A GOP lawmaker said he’d consider supporting an impeachment of President Donald Trump if he launches a U.S. invasion of Greenland
I feel like he should be impeached before, not after, he invades Greenland.
The fact that he’s falling back on tariffs yet again suggests that he’s been told an invasion isn’t viable. His insistence that everything be “perfect” means he won’t accept a fight that would be long and difficult and involve US casualties, so the military leadership have probably managed to convince him that that’s what an invasion would entail.
When Trump had a bandage on his ear from being grazed by a bullet, many of his cultists wore bandages, too, as a sort of cult fashion statement. These are not bright people. These are people who have lost their way in life and are either extremely disturbed or completely insane.
‘Sir Knight, I have pissed in my pants, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.’
Is there going to be much “European deterrence”? Has anyone put up, say, a single battalion?
No, this would be utterly pointless. There are many other ways to deter this madness.
- A limited number of NATO special forces to protect Greenland government officials from kidnapping attempts.
- Plans for an insurgency with arms and drones widely distributed
- Back channel discussions about how Europe, Canada and others can dump US Treasuries rapidly, causing economic chaos
- Working closely with the less insane Republicans, clearly explaining the consequences.
Sticking a battalion in Greenland would simply be an easy target for Dear Leader and the Keg-Master.
I think the only argument that would have persuaded Trump would be to point out that enough US troops would defy such an order that the invasion could not be done. Otherwise man-child Trump would be saying, “We have XXXX number of warplanes, warships, how can we not take that place with so few people opposing us”
Or some kind of threat to his money; I don’t know what Europe could do along those lines, though. But Trump would certainly find the prospect of losing even ten dollars of his own money more worrisome than the possibility of any number of other people losing their lives.
Trump is EXTREMELY averse to the idea of US casualties in combat. Flag-draped coffins makes for bad TV and that’s the one thing he’s genuinely savvy about. He’s backed out of military strikes before when told casualties would be unavoidable. When multiple soldiers were injured and concussed by an Iranian missile strike in 2020, he struggled to downplay it as “a few people got a headache”. It’s why he refused to commit to actual regime change in Venezuela instead of just snatching Maduro and leaving his government intact. He wants any strike he orders to be a “perfect attack” where no Americans die and victory is total. It’s why he insists his strike on Iran last year “completely destroyed” their nuclear arsenal when no such thing happened, and why he won’t order a strike now.
If he was told that annexing Greenland would require a long-term occupation and American deaths would be unavoidable, that’s more than enough to make him chicken out.
That’s Don Bacon. He is NOT running for re-election and probably is the most moderate Republican in Congress. He does not count.
If told by an admiral or general that American deaths are unavoidable, Trump would ask Hegseth to get rid of that officer and find one who can put together a casualty-free plan.
As for long-term occupation, that’s what Trump wants.
Isn’t it funny how he said that Russia would never have invaded Ukraine on his watch but unless you give him Greenland then either Russia or China would take it over? I think his problem is looking at a Mercator projection map where Greenland looks about as big as South America. We all know how obsessed he is with size. Nice to see that he’s getting pushback on Greenland. For the first time in his life, he’s getting told “no” and the big-assed shitty diaper-wearing wimp can’t handle it.
It is not the first time. It reminds him of his father.
Exactly.