President Trump is doubling down on his pursuit of Greenland, setting the international community on edge. On today’s edition of The Editors, Charlie points out that in Trump’s push, “There is a big difference between playing hardball and what Trump is doing.”
“If the United States genuinely believes,” Charlie says, “that the acquisition of Greenland is necessary for its national security — and that’s an argument that Trump has started to make in fits and starts — then it can advance that case without, for example, sending missives to the Danish authorities complaining that the president didn’t receive a Nobel Peace Prize, without randomly threatening tariffs on the United Kingdom, on France.”
“He’s unfocused, and he’s wild. I don’t know if it warrants the 25th Amendment, but we ought not to downplay how capricious and manic he seems.”
Noah agrees, saying, “This whole enterprise is impossibly stupid. This administration privileges and is very sensitive toward the intangible aspects of statecraft. They are really obsessed with honor and respect and prestige, and they are very sensitive to violations perceived or otherwise of that. But totally dismissive of any other country that might privilege the same intangibles as they do, and they mete out embarrassment after embarrassment, provocation after provocation, and expect no response.”
He goes on to stress that Trump’s actions in this area are “diminishing America’s national culture, our respect for sovereignty, our respect for democracy, the liberty of freedom-loving people to exist in their own social compact and enjoy self-determination. Those are essential elements of the American national character abroad, and the president is just throwing those away. We’ll really miss them when they’re gone.”
The Editors podcast is recorded on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and is available wherever you listen to podcasts.