I suspect, given his age, that Trump cares not a whit for soccer/football and while anything can prick his ego, it would be more of a shrug and “It’s not a real sport moment”. Look instead at the way he’s mentioning using a presidential edict to prevent competition with the Army/Navy (American) Football game, which is what he probably considers appropriately “manly”!
Maybe he does not care about football/soccer, but he cares about ass kissing by Mafiantino, the FIFA president, peace prizes and shiny things. Other members of FIFA who are only normally corrupt (Mafiantino is really on another level) find this embarrassing:
They’re a week late. Randy Fine (R- Florida) already introduced his bill on January 12th.
Full name of this abomination: Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act to Strengthen U.S. National Security and Put Our Adversaries on Notice
Is it possible that the simplest and cleanest way to defuse this crisis is for the Nobel Committee to declare a do-over and give him the prize?
It’s stupid and ridiculous but so is everything these days.
I don’t think that appeasing a madman threatening world peace works. I think America needs to be stopped now, rather than later.
He was making noises about Greenland before 2025. The prize is just the latest in a long list of supposed grievances. If it wasn’t that, it would be some other excuse. Worse, it’s being exacerbated by Stephen Miller and others in his inner circle.
Even total capitulation wouldn’t really satisfy him. Give him a mile, and he’ll simply demand 10 more. Also, part of this is to distract from Epstein, so there always has to be something else to keep people occupied.
You’re not wrong, I’m suggesting that he’ll quickly find someone else to suck up to him and brush off the snub in a dismissive way (though he’ll still suck/stew about it and expect funding cuts for soccer /football programs in the US, or abusive actions to be taken against non-US nationals performing in the states).
It’s a significant snub from the European standpoint, and has little direct cost to the EU, I fully grant. And all power too them, but it will probably only glance off of Trump’s endless arrogance rather than strike deeply.
Personally, I’d just start declaring him as an enemy of the nation(s) based on his own damn admissions and confiscate all his European properties/businesses whether directly owned or not. He’s using a nation to commit an act of grand larceny. Let him enjoy some lawfare actually directed at him, since he already refuses to distinguish between being held accountable for criminal actions and being personally attacked.
Do it for anyone in his circle as well - similar to actions taken against Putin and his associates by the EU and USA.
In this letter he admits he never really gave a shit about peace (“You didn’t give me the prize so I’m no longer obligated”). Now that he has his hand-me-down prize, he’s done pretending that he ever cared about it. He is going to stop begging but, of course, continue to bitch about it.
Yeah, that point is brought home in every cop show involving a hostage situation.
Yep, seize that golf course he owns in Scotland. That is something he would care about. I doubt he gives a **** about the World Cup (“ ‘Soccer’? Never heard of it”)
Give it to the RAF to use as a targeting range.
Give it to the RAF to use as a latrine.
OK so I don’t normally do anything so ridiculous as attempt to speak for my nation but:
Seize his golf courses and turn them into windfarms? Not a problem, happy to do it.
Boycott the first (men’s) World Cup we’ve qualified for in 28 years? Not saying no, but there’s some stages of grief we’ll have to work through first.
Interesting idea.
“Sir, the British have added a few more … umm, hazards to your golf course in Scotland.”
“What, like sand traps and ponds and stuff?”
“Not exactly, sir. Let’s just say that if you hear, ‘Incoming!’. you take cover immediately.”
Nothing so aggressive would be needed. Just some “urgent works” on services that would necessitate digging up quite a large chunk of the access roads and, oops oh dear, cutting off electricity and water supply.
While we “wait for spare parts” to arrive… that don’t.
Also, I’ve read in the past that studies indicate that pretending to be insane increases the chance of developing actual mental illness.
Also, doing anything but passing the message along unedited both means taking some responsibility for its content, and risks bringing you to Trump’s notice as a prospective fall guy when it’s received badly. This is a situation when being just one unnoticed cog in the machine is the best choice for them.
Yeah, there’s literally centuries of evidence that trying to appease aggressors doesn’t work. It just encourages them. “Once you pay the Danegeld, you’re never rid of the Dane”.
Krugman calls it this morning.
…
This might not exactly be sundowning, since it’s not clear that Trump is lucid and rational at any time of the day. What is incontrovertible is that he’s deeply unwell and rapidly getting sicker.In fact, Trump is so deeply unwell that it’s time to stop blaming him for all the terrible things he’s doing. He is what he is. Responsibility for the catastrophe overtaking America now rests with his enablers — people who have to know that he’s a sick man but continue to support his depredations.
…
How did a great, sophisticated nation, one of the world’s longest-standing republics, end up so fragile that it can be undone by one man’s dementia? That’s an important question, the answer to which I believe lies in the straight line from Bush vs Gore and the Roberts Supreme Court, to January 6th, to the execution of Renee Good. However, what’s more important is that we realize where we are right now, that we don’t try to sugarcoat and sanewash what’s happening: A petulant, violent and deranged individual is running America.
My bold.
He tells it like it is.
Thanks for sharing that. That article is a perfect, succinct distillation of everything that’s currently wrong with not only trump, but our enabling government as a whole. I’ve bookmarked it to share in case I ever get in a discussion with anybody who still supports trump and his administration.
I’m very glad to see that. I hope more people become willing to say that out loud.
also note worthy reading if you are at Substack is Robert Reich’s daily take on this administration. (and many other thinkers as well)