We the public, and especially the media and our representatives in government, need to stop pretending that there's some kind of intelligible rationale for any of this. The fact of the matter is that our president is clearly insane (dementia, psychosis, solipsism, whatever), his cabinet is too invested in the grift (either financially or ideologically) to do anything other than keep propping him up so they can keep using his power, and the Republicans in congress who know better are too afraid to remove him because his cult members are making viable threats of violence against them and their families. We, as a country, need to face these realities if we are to find a way out of this mess that doesn't involve some version of WWIII. A bill to provide basic physical security to members of congress might actually be a good place to start.
Agreed. Any analysis that looks for a logical reason why is just missing the point -- and the point is that Trump's defective toddler brain has fixated on Greenland just the way it has on the Nobel Peace Prize. And whatever may have triggered the initial fixation, it is not anything rational. To understand Trump on Greenland, one should instead think of a toddler who sees a heavily advertised toy on the toy aisle at Walmart and throws a tantrum when his parents refuse to buy it for him.
And this should also inform the response by everyone to Trump's Greenland fixation. When a toddler throws a tantrum, negotiations aren't likely to lead to a positive outcome.
Trump's rambling on about Greenland is a distraction but not from Epstein. It's about Ukraine and the daily pummeling of its energy infrastructure by Russia. The distraction is buying Putin time.
He is definitely enabling Putin and freezing Ukraine, literally and figuratively. Just like everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is about trump's bloated, insane ego, I believe he has never forgiven Zelensky for standing up to him when he asked for dirt on Biden prior to 2020 election. And that, dear readers, is why Ukraine is left out in the cold by the US to fend for itself. Europe is going to have to do the saving this time, both for Ukraine and against the depraved megalomaniac in the White House.
If we wanted to strengthen the US position in the world in opposition to China and Russia any economic development in Greenland would be done in cooperation with EU nations because Europe is the frontline against Russia and a bastion of democracy in the world. Betraying NATO and backstabbing our European allies can only be seen as a declaration of friendship with Russia and the establishment of a new world order where the US abandons the Pax Americana in favor of dividing the world between three authoritarian empires where people don't matter, only power and concepts like freedom and self determination are but a distant memory because all that matters is might and only the oligarchs have any meaningful chance at living a decent life.
Yours is the voice of reason but our misguided president is unlikely to back away from his declaration to take Greenland one way or another BEFORE the midterm elections BECAUSE he knows he may not have unopposed power in congress afterwards. My hunch presupposes that he knows he can’t easily stop the elections without precipitating mass violent protests and an economy-crippling general strike which could tank SCOTUS support and bring about desertion by the GOP senate, putting them in the mood for impeachment or worse. The Epstein Files matter is a dangerous wildcard if it breaks wide open: but DOJ will not allow that to happen. Still, in his calculating mind, he must take Greenland NOW, keep the Ep-files under wraps, escalate his cruel show of strength in American cities, drive deportation numbers as high as possible, make Venezuelan oil start paying off and keep the hapless MAGA faithful in tow. I may be off base but when I imagine me as him, this is how I (as he) would do the math. I suppose we’d all benefit somewhat if he died but I’d rather see him continue as the focus of the opposition’s ire until our strength has grown and our courage for the coming fight has matured. There’s no easy way out of this kind of mess, as history so clearly shows.
I almost share your wish for Rs to hit rock bottom, as I did during the Loser's first term and into the pandemic. Then I realized there is no bottom for Rs that will not end up harming us irreparably. How I wish Trump had been standing where Charlie Kirk was.
Just watch, in addition to the rare earths, which indeed are important, Trump will only settle once all the pieces are in place for his family and his friends families and his political backers, like the crypto crowd and the Musks and Thiel's of this world to also make a buck.
I don't think there's anyway in this world that our president's sole motivation is national security.
I seriously question why it has a damned thing to do with national security. It's a buzz-phrase that his cult will nod their heads to, along with his lackeys and toadies.
This is not about national security, any more than the invasion of Minnesota is about immigration. Texas, Florida, California and New York all have many times more people for his ICEholes to round up than in Minnesota. I think his real aim is the destruction of NATO and the control of Greenland to appease his buddy Putin.
I do, too, but I must confess I borrowed it. Nevertheless I use it all the time now to refer to people like Jonathan Ross and Gregory Bovino. It's so fitting.
A brilliant analysis of what seems a far more preferable, saner policy option! I remain confounded that this Republican Congress has fallen nearly mute on this issue, and as with Venezuela, is reluctant to draw any boundaries on when the President must consult with them. How could it be logical to wait until he takes action? And yet, that is what they apparently insist on doing.... It's utterly baffling. Why did they run for office?
You're totally right!! My idealism sometimes could use a little nudge to wake up to reality! You just nudged me to smile about the true answer to my question!! :-) Thanks!
Trump's obsession with wanting to seize Greenland is beyond insane. He claims that if we don't seize the country, Russia and/or China will. That is highly unlikely to say the least. Why? All members of NATO voluntarily committed to defend any member country from attack. That includes the USA!!! That is the central purpose of NATO! I believe the probability that Russia or China would take the gamble that NATO members would ignore an attack on Greenland is vanishingly close to zero, more likely equal to zero.
That proves that rather than putting the security of the US first he sees himself as “Emperor Trump” who adds to the size of the country. In his mind bigger is better.
Today's speech at Davos by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is certainly relevant to the topic of Greenland - and many other things - and I encourage all Contrarians to watch it.
Most news outlets have clipped some or all of the introductory remarks, and/or the followup Q&A, but this recording from CPAC (the Canadian Parliamentary Channel) has the whole thing. The country where I live is very fortunate to have this incredible man heading its national government. Enjoy!
Someone with a strong public persona should point out to the president that the area of Greenland is greatly distorted on a flat map. One could hope that Trump would then think it wasn’t worth the effort to take over Greenland if he knew it was smaller than he thought.
"Trump has said repeatedly that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority."
Everything that he wants is a 'national security' issue. This boy has cried wolf once too often. Greenland poses no security issue at all except in Trump's disordered and diseased mind. We need some clear parameters in place to be used to determine just what national security is, besides words out of a demented man's mouth.
The smart thing to do is to be their best ally. Not their worst enemy. But this maniac doesn’t have any emotional intelligence to show that we not only can protect ourselves but also protect them too. This could be anything the Americans and the Danes could decide on as to how best to defend ourselves against aggression from countries like Russia and China.
We the public, and especially the media and our representatives in government, need to stop pretending that there's some kind of intelligible rationale for any of this. The fact of the matter is that our president is clearly insane (dementia, psychosis, solipsism, whatever), his cabinet is too invested in the grift (either financially or ideologically) to do anything other than keep propping him up so they can keep using his power, and the Republicans in congress who know better are too afraid to remove him because his cult members are making viable threats of violence against them and their families. We, as a country, need to face these realities if we are to find a way out of this mess that doesn't involve some version of WWIII. A bill to provide basic physical security to members of congress might actually be a good place to start.
Agreed. Any analysis that looks for a logical reason why is just missing the point -- and the point is that Trump's defective toddler brain has fixated on Greenland just the way it has on the Nobel Peace Prize. And whatever may have triggered the initial fixation, it is not anything rational. To understand Trump on Greenland, one should instead think of a toddler who sees a heavily advertised toy on the toy aisle at Walmart and throws a tantrum when his parents refuse to buy it for him.
And this should also inform the response by everyone to Trump's Greenland fixation. When a toddler throws a tantrum, negotiations aren't likely to lead to a positive outcome.
"Why in the world is Trump so obsessed with Greenland, to the point that he seems hellbent on destroying the NATO alliance over it?"
Think about it. Who would be interested in destroying the NATO alliance? Who has, in fact, worked diligently to that end for years?
The answer to your question may be simpler than you think.
Indeed, this is Putin's dream come true. Fracturing NATO without firing a shot.
It's not out of place to ask: what's in it for Trump?
world rule with putin
Got it in one!
https://deadder.substack.com/p/trump-wants-greenland
Trump's rambling on about Greenland is a distraction but not from Epstein. It's about Ukraine and the daily pummeling of its energy infrastructure by Russia. The distraction is buying Putin time.
Trump is Putin's biggest ally and enabler.
He is definitely enabling Putin and freezing Ukraine, literally and figuratively. Just like everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is about trump's bloated, insane ego, I believe he has never forgiven Zelensky for standing up to him when he asked for dirt on Biden prior to 2020 election. And that, dear readers, is why Ukraine is left out in the cold by the US to fend for itself. Europe is going to have to do the saving this time, both for Ukraine and against the depraved megalomaniac in the White House.
If we wanted to strengthen the US position in the world in opposition to China and Russia any economic development in Greenland would be done in cooperation with EU nations because Europe is the frontline against Russia and a bastion of democracy in the world. Betraying NATO and backstabbing our European allies can only be seen as a declaration of friendship with Russia and the establishment of a new world order where the US abandons the Pax Americana in favor of dividing the world between three authoritarian empires where people don't matter, only power and concepts like freedom and self determination are but a distant memory because all that matters is might and only the oligarchs have any meaningful chance at living a decent life.
Yours is the voice of reason but our misguided president is unlikely to back away from his declaration to take Greenland one way or another BEFORE the midterm elections BECAUSE he knows he may not have unopposed power in congress afterwards. My hunch presupposes that he knows he can’t easily stop the elections without precipitating mass violent protests and an economy-crippling general strike which could tank SCOTUS support and bring about desertion by the GOP senate, putting them in the mood for impeachment or worse. The Epstein Files matter is a dangerous wildcard if it breaks wide open: but DOJ will not allow that to happen. Still, in his calculating mind, he must take Greenland NOW, keep the Ep-files under wraps, escalate his cruel show of strength in American cities, drive deportation numbers as high as possible, make Venezuelan oil start paying off and keep the hapless MAGA faithful in tow. I may be off base but when I imagine me as him, this is how I (as he) would do the math. I suppose we’d all benefit somewhat if he died but I’d rather see him continue as the focus of the opposition’s ire until our strength has grown and our courage for the coming fight has matured. There’s no easy way out of this kind of mess, as history so clearly shows.
I almost share your wish for Rs to hit rock bottom, as I did during the Loser's first term and into the pandemic. Then I realized there is no bottom for Rs that will not end up harming us irreparably. How I wish Trump had been standing where Charlie Kirk was.
Just watch, in addition to the rare earths, which indeed are important, Trump will only settle once all the pieces are in place for his family and his friends families and his political backers, like the crypto crowd and the Musks and Thiel's of this world to also make a buck.
I don't think there's anyway in this world that our president's sole motivation is national security.
I seriously question why it has a damned thing to do with national security. It's a buzz-phrase that his cult will nod their heads to, along with his lackeys and toadies.
This is not about national security, any more than the invasion of Minnesota is about immigration. Texas, Florida, California and New York all have many times more people for his ICEholes to round up than in Minnesota. I think his real aim is the destruction of NATO and the control of Greenland to appease his buddy Putin.
love ICEholes
I do, too, but I must confess I borrowed it. Nevertheless I use it all the time now to refer to people like Jonathan Ross and Gregory Bovino. It's so fitting.
I think the first time I heard it was in the Michael Keaton movie, "Johnny Dangerously" though in the movie the full phrase is "fargin' iceholes"
I remember that movie ! oldie but a goodie very funny
Trump is demented. It's that simple. Anyone who doesn't see that is semi=-demented themselves.
El Presidente is very probably incapable of a strategic thought or long-term plan.
The most likely explanation is that he sees this big land mass close to the US on a map, and wonders why it's not part of the US.......
Although the little ones, like Puerto Rico and neighbors, are mere pustules, according to his lizard brain.
A brilliant analysis of what seems a far more preferable, saner policy option! I remain confounded that this Republican Congress has fallen nearly mute on this issue, and as with Venezuela, is reluctant to draw any boundaries on when the President must consult with them. How could it be logical to wait until he takes action? And yet, that is what they apparently insist on doing.... It's utterly baffling. Why did they run for office?
To that question, the words influence, power, money and position come to mind.
You're totally right!! My idealism sometimes could use a little nudge to wake up to reality! You just nudged me to smile about the true answer to my question!! :-) Thanks!
Trump's obsession with wanting to seize Greenland is beyond insane. He claims that if we don't seize the country, Russia and/or China will. That is highly unlikely to say the least. Why? All members of NATO voluntarily committed to defend any member country from attack. That includes the USA!!! That is the central purpose of NATO! I believe the probability that Russia or China would take the gamble that NATO members would ignore an attack on Greenland is vanishingly close to zero, more likely equal to zero.
That proves that rather than putting the security of the US first he sees himself as “Emperor Trump” who adds to the size of the country. In his mind bigger is better.
Today's speech at Davos by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is certainly relevant to the topic of Greenland - and many other things - and I encourage all Contrarians to watch it.
Most news outlets have clipped some or all of the introductory remarks, and/or the followup Q&A, but this recording from CPAC (the Canadian Parliamentary Channel) has the whole thing. The country where I live is very fortunate to have this incredible man heading its national government. Enjoy!
https://www.cpac.ca/headline-politics/episode/world-economic-forum-special-address-by-pm-mark-carney?id=a5157ccf-d1f1-457a-89fd-46a6bd651479
https://www.cpac.ca/about-cpac
(Replying to myself as a PS)
I don't think I have ever before heard a speech by a national leader citing *both* Thucydides and Václav Havel in just the first few minutes...
Someone with a strong public persona should point out to the president that the area of Greenland is greatly distorted on a flat map. One could hope that Trump would then think it wasn’t worth the effort to take over Greenland if he knew it was smaller than he thought.
Rational path forward, first, second and third.
I thought US policy was NOT to negotiate with terrorists.
US being the terrorist.
"Trump has said repeatedly that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority."
Everything that he wants is a 'national security' issue. This boy has cried wolf once too often. Greenland poses no security issue at all except in Trump's disordered and diseased mind. We need some clear parameters in place to be used to determine just what national security is, besides words out of a demented man's mouth.
The smart thing to do is to be their best ally. Not their worst enemy. But this maniac doesn’t have any emotional intelligence to show that we not only can protect ourselves but also protect them too. This could be anything the Americans and the Danes could decide on as to how best to defend ourselves against aggression from countries like Russia and China.
As I read over the weekend, every action taken to date by NATO has been to advance U.S. interests. And this is what we DON'T want???