Donald Trump is now very clearly of the opinion that he can do whatever he wants in the world, constrained only, as he said recently, by his own morality, for the existence of which there is very little evidence.
But, before we assume that is true, it is worth considering this report from the FT:
Donald Trump's increasingly aggressive campaign to take control of Greenland has attracted sharp rebukes from Republican lawmakers, raising the possibility that Congress will try to rein in the president's territorial ambitions.
As they add:
At least one Republican lawmaker has publicly suggested that if Trump were to use military force to seize the Danish territory, it would be an impeachable offence — and spell the end of his presidency.
Right now, that seems unlikely, but Trump's aggression is only just beginning, and who knows where it might end? Canada is clearly on his agenda, and that might massively change sentiment, not least because I think that would lead to armed conflict.
More pragmatically, as the FT notes:
Several others have said they expect a war powers resolution, which would prevent the president from deploying troops to Greenland without congressional approval, to garner the backing of the majority of lawmakers in the coming weeks.
So what, you might ask. Trump is already ignoring Congress on the Epstein files, which are the almost certain reason for this eruption of world tension (to understate its significance, probably grossly). So, would he ignore his own legislators if they moved against him on Greenland, Canada, and wherever else is next on his list? Most likely, the answer is yes. That is what fascists do, after all.
They also bring trumped-up charges against those who oppose them and then seek to incarcerate those who are seeking to operate within the rule of law, which is what he is now doing to Democrats who are opposing the operations of ICE in Minnesota. So, those calling him out deserve credit for their courage.
But let's not ignore the significance of this. If even a few Republicans side with the Democrats against Trump, and assuming all the Democrats hold the line (never something to be taken for granted), then Trump could face serious domestic problems around which opposition could coalesce. That could be a tipping point, the second I have described this morning. Domestic financial and consumer fears can only feed the likelihood of this happening when there is no evidence of any strong groundswell of support in the USA for Trump's expansionary plans.
I am not understating the significance of what is happening on the world stage right now. Trump's threat is real. It cannot be understated. But the fact that it might be built on very shaky foundations is important to note. His chances of delivery may not be as high as he thinks, and the successors to Trump (for there will be successors) have one great disadvantage compared to him: they are not Trump. That matters. He might be a fundamentally flawed character, but that creates a charisma that none of his heirs apparent have a hope of emulating: as leaders, they all look to have decidedly limited potential. The Trump grand plan could, then, wither domestically. We should not forget that.
But there are three other things to note in that case.
First, confidence in the USA will have been shattered nonetheless, and will take decades to recover, if ever it does.
Second, the world order will have changed as a result. The only thing we do not know, as yet, is how that will work out.
Third, Europe will, as I argue in this morning's video, need to grow up as a result. It is on its own now, come what may.
The times have changed. There is no conditionality about that: last week is now history, and very different from our present. That's how fast things are moving. King Donald may not be able to deliver. He might not have the power he presumes is available to him. But he has nonetheless irrevocably changed the course of events. That is the least that will be said in retrospect of this moment.
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Thank you, Richard.
I would add that Iceland and its cheap energy is also on King Donald’s menu. It’s not just King Donald, but the oligarch gangsters around him.
I understand the emphasis on King Donald, but, along with most people in the global south / zone b, from where I’m typing, see the US, not just Trump, as the problem, plus Europe as Macron and Rutte gave the game away yesterday. I’m very much in agreement with Mike Parr, to whom and you I must write separately, about the USA being a problem since 1897, the US and Britain’s other creation 50 years later.
Today, the Post Office will issue stamps to commemorate Concorde. In addition to denying Concorde the ability to fly over the US, the US mobilised its Atlanticist proxies to sabotage Anglo-French and later pan-European cooperation*, including Westland in 1985 – 6. Trump was not around then, so it’s not a Trump problem, but a US problem.
I will send a Richard and Mike a post in excess of 500 words about how the US exerts influence over its European colonies and will name names, but leave it to Richard for editing. Most, but not all, Europeans don’t realise they live in colonies. They think colonies are what my parents left. Please read what the Belgian PM said yesterday.
*Mum’s (bilingual) big sister, who shares the same Christian name as Mrs M, worked on such projects, was seconded to Aerospatialle, married a French colleague and lives near Toulouse, French aerospace country. Mum worked in Whitehall. Dad was in the RAF, but spent 1986 – 8 at USAF HQ.
Thanks…
I will read!
Thanks!
In response to “Can King Donald Deliver” this came over the e-mail today (and relevant to the post):
“Ukraine with the help of France supplied some false intelligence about Ukrainian plans to the Americans. Shortly after the Russians acted on the ‘intelligence’ showing the Trump regime cannot be trusted with secrets.”
This accords with a previous comment by me – that France now supplies 75% of military intelligence to Ukraine. It is clear that a sting was put in place to find out how reliable the USTrump is. Well it would seem that USTrump is an enemy – perhaps not in the way that Ruzzia is @ the moment – but give it time, give it time.
Sources Mike?
Ive heard similar suggestions that Ukraine’s reliance on US intelligence is now greatly reduced.
Any intelligence being supplied to the US re Israel should certainly be cut off.
I was an engineering student at Bristol as Concorde was being built. Spent a summer working at Roll Royce including their test beds and R&D. They said then that the high security was to keep the Americans out! Dont think they were joking.
🙂
Living in London in the 1990’s, we used to see at least one Concorde flight do a right turn above Forest Hill on a daily basis. Noisy but graceful.
I also remember that the UK also developed one of the first supersonic bombers the TSR2 that was cancelled in favour of buying U.S. kit. Cheaper maybe, but also more dependent on the U.S for sure. The British aircraft industry never forgave the Labour government for that.
BTW – what about Canada’s Mark Carney! ‘Captain My Captain’ or just a load of words?
It flew over my office in Wandsworth every evening at 6.15. It told me to go home.
And Carney will be in the morning. I think it significant: the times, they are a changin’
Mon Colonel
I was going to query when you wrote ‘sabotage Anglo-French’ meaning Concorde or the AFVG?
But then refreshed my memory about the Westland affair-now Leonardo- in my county.
Heseltine wanted a European solution but was driven to resign.
an account here https://www.westland100.org.uk/content/contributors/michael-heseltine/westland-affair-1986-brought-yeovil-company-brink-collapse-led-resignations-two-cabinet-ministers-michael-heseltine-gives-account-events-talk
PS I did wear an RAF uniform as an ATC cadet. Good memories.
It seems Denmark did sell a colony to the US as long ago as 1916. They owned part of the Virgin Island group.
One of the them was Little Saint James island. In recent years was sold to a private company owned by a chap called Jeffrey Epstein. Name seems familiar.
Another Richard (Richard North) on his blog today lists a lot of historical land purchases, including Denmark selling the Danish West Indies islands to the US in 1917 (and the last one in 1944). So, Denmark, Spain, and France can hardly complain, as they have all historically sold land to the US.
There are suggestions that a $700bn package is going to be offered to Denmark for Greenland, and $100,000/Greenlander. If Denmark and the Greenlanders wish to accept that, that is their choice of course. $700bn is over 1.5 years of Denmark GDP.
It could be Trumps threats and bombast is just to gain an advantage in the inevitable negotiation. By threatening to do whatever it takes to own Greenland, suggesting military force without explicitly saying so, he has caused European leaders to get all hot and bothered, confused and worried. Could this just be a calculation to put them at a disadvantage in what will be just a commercial transaction between countries, as has happened repeatedly throughout history?
Re your first para: let’s get real: the world has changed, and we with it. Land sales might have been possible and even politically acceptable once upon a time, but not any longer. We respect people now – or we should. They are not for sale, and if they are we will have acknowledged a return to both feudalism and slavery.
30 pieces of silver come to my mind.
The point I am poorly trying to make is that IF the Greenlanders (and personally to a lessor extent Denmark) decide to sell Greenland to America, then it is not for us in the UK or Europe to stop them.
In that context, I am suggesting that Trumps initial approach is to spread FUD so that he can offer a lower price and try and browbeat them into accepting it. A typical sales-person tactic is it not?
There is a very hard question as to how to decide this democratically though. We here made a poor choice on the Brexit referendum on just accepting a simple majority of votes. I would suggest if Greenlanders wanted to vote on selling their land, that they aim for 90+% yes and require a full turnout, including children. I would also suggest any payment is made in physical Gold, since obviously, because of MMT, the US can just create any amount of $.
Of course we could not stop them selling if they decided to do so.
But how might they make that decision?
And why would they even start to consider it when the evidence that this is not desired is very strong right now?
I have posted elsewhere on FTF today about distractions – it occurs to me today that possibly the biggest distraction is Trump himself. What HE distracts us from is neoliberalism, gross inequality, oligarchy, misogyny, CSAM, pleonexia, climate collapse, colonialism, Palestine/Israel, racism, and how much is wrong in the USA and UK and EU power systems.
But surely, Trump himself personifies all these things?
Yes, of course he does. But getting rid of Trump won’t get rid of any of those problems.
When Trump falls (read Daniel 5 for encouragement about such things – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%205&version=CEV – the story of Belteshazzars feast – somehow suddenly so much more credible nowadays?) the danger will be that everyone relaxes – many politicians will, especially our own incompetents – maybe Fa***e will fall with Trump, so why not leave Labour in place and preserve the status quo?
But everything bad about our world order will remain in place, post-Trump. They will simply regroup, and proceed in a more orderly, but equally lethal fashion. Project 2025 will not be abandoned. Rachel Reeves will not abandon neoliberal economics nor will the Republicans, Democrats or the EU.
But the good news is, even if everyone else relaxes, we don’t. Resistance redoubles its efforts, because at last there is a window of opportunity. The public will begin to listen and we have something refreshing and hopeful to say. Let Donald rest in peace, wherever he ends up. He will be irrelevant, we have other dragons to slay, and the weapons to do it.
KUTGW! (All of us)
I will not give up my efforts.
I honestly believe that someone like Trump cannot arise without internal and external collusion supported by vested interests. With Trump gone, will the U.S. give stuff back? I don’t think so. I really don’t. I just hope that during Trump’s time, the rest of us have an epiphany and just say enough is enough.
To underline Colonel Smithers’ point, some of us have always known that the U.S. are dug into the UK and Europe like ticks – for goodness sake, they never let go of the islands they took in the pacific in WW II. Why would we be treated any differently?
The U.S. is almost the epitome of the Christian/evangelical fundamentalist conversion mindset. They just cannot cope with pluralism. They are natural monopolists through and through.
Another big question has to be, how long can Trump survive? By most accounts his mental state is deteriorating fast and he is far from being in fine physical shape. His malignant narcissism thrives on attention which the world’s main stream media happily nourishes him with. If he is constantly challenged, confronted or ignored the Emporer’s clothes may fall very rapidly. But there is no question that Trump has been a massive catalyst and the world order shaken to the core. As you say it is almost certainly going to be brutal but the hope that something better emerges has to remain.
I’ve seen a lot of social media posts calling for nations (such as the UK) to sell their US assets as well as some calling for much greater caution (especially for the UK) in doing so. What’s your take on this Richard?
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/01/19/will-a-us-treasury-sell-off-work/
I am currently following Trump’s speech. It echoes many themes used by Vance and the UK far right. It is a full-frontal assault on our European culture, and our British government. It is a declaration of ‘soft’ war.
Agreed
The Mark Carney speech is well worth watching. He is utterly blunt and realistic about Trumps America and how it is time to move on. Quickly as Canada is already doing. The time for prevarification is long past.
https://www.youtube.com/live/dE981Z_TaVo?si=0AJUZbLOWmIeWolM
It will be on the blog in the morning, with some analysis, because it is epochal
If Trump has lost his marbles, is there any profit in trying to analyse what is likely to happen? He is irrational and we don’t know how much power he actually has or will be allowed to exercise if he continues in office. Or, who is pulling his strings, if anybody actually is?
I’m sure we have to talk about it, but as a former bookie, I would caution anyone from betting on any particular outcome. Totally unpredictable with any degree of certainty.
Agreed
@PSR
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/01/21/can-king-donald-deliver/comment-page-1/#comment-1064172
You are right – you usually are! 😉 but also bear in mind, there is an alternative “dissenting” type of Christianity (also in other religions), which has been disliked to the point of persecution, by authoritarian systems around the world through history, not necessarily because of theological differences (although that happens, see Schulz’s Peanuts cartoons, where Snoopy rejects a bitch who ate rabbits, “we had theological differences” + Donatism, Arianism & The Real Presence) and not always because of geoplitics (although that occurs, the burnings and pressings of Catholics during the invasion threat from Spain and Mary’s similar burnings of protestants when she got the throne) but mostly it is because these pesky God-botherers have a higher authority claiming their loyalty than the State, the Emperor, the Flag, or the Established religion (George Fox & Quakers, John Bunyan, John Newton (slave trader to abolitionist clergyman) – its a long list, and today it incldes a few arrested elderly cardboard-terrorist vicars.
Authoritarians often want rid of their “troublesome priests” and thugs oblige them, even today.
It’s a complex subject, but often its the religious who represent civic/political pluralism, and the authoritarian state that won’t tolerate it. Pontius Pilate couldn’t get his head round that 2,000 years ago.
What makes it even worse, is the dissenters often are prepared to die, (authoritarians prefer to kill), but when someone is willing to die they are difficult to control.
Go to any authoritarian regime and you will find these dissenters and a da***d nuisance they are to totalitarian governments. There are even evangelical dissenters standing against MAGA Christofascism right now – a risky business.
Remember the first raid on a public building in the UK, when the PA proscription row started? – a Quaker meeting house. The republican arrested for shouting “not my king” at Charles I’s proclamation? A trainee Baptist minister.
There are pesky dissenting god-botherers in this battle perhaps more than we realise. I’m proud to serve alongside progressive atheists, agnostics, and people of faith, including PSR, although I’m not very brave, just old enough not to to mind a few threats.
Many thnanks.
I feel like Bonhoeffer is the elephant in your comment
I appreciate that
Agreed, Bonhoeffer was the better known, more politically involved figure and a man of courage, intelligence and theological depth.The first Protestant clergyman anti-Nazi martyr, was one Pastor Paul Schneider who was first arrested in June 1934, and murdered by lethal injection July 1938 in Buchenwald, before the war even began.
His “crime” was his refusal to accept the authority of the Nazi government to control his pastoring of his congregation, or to say Heil Hitler!, or to salute the Nazi swastika flag. He challeged their claim to absolute authority, so was murdered by small weak men.
How long before this happens in the US?
RobertJ – as ever, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Writing as I did about Christianity being a source of U.S. hegemony, I know it is more complicated than that but do not have the detail. I have read about Jesus over the years, and he never came across as a zealot to be honest – he seemed to be ‘live and let live’.
This divide you speak of though in religion interests me? The authoritarian state adoption of religion and the private religion of citizens. Maybe – as Hannah Arendt alluded – there are indeed citizens who find authoritarianism attractive – political, religious, fiscal – whatever, and this is where the state and such persons meet and work together in a negative way. And then there are divides between religions – Christianity, Muslim, Jews – where each has the propensity to claim exclusive rights from time to time, and even among those, there are claims between congregations to be more true than others. What a mess.
To me, it all adds up to an affront to God; he/she/it is badly used. In fact, it would not surprise me if he/her/it had just given up on us and started another project somewhere else!
And about me being right a lot of the time? Nah! It’s just my inclination to deconstruct problems and then build them up again into some form of better understanding that’s all.
@PSR- the pleasure is mutual!
Can I use a football analogy from Liverpool/Bootle where my Dad grew up?
On Saturday the Prods went to Goodison Park, the Catholics to Anfield. Rivalry was intense. But on a Tuesday or Wednesday night they all went to Tranmere Rovers together and were Liverpudlians together. (Tranmere didnt play on Sat afternoon.)
One of the divides in religion (like football) is between fans who join “lads” clubs for some vicious hateful violence, and others who just enjoy football.
It’s possible to believe your football team, or your God, is the “real thing” and still see the image of God and the love of God, in your neighbours whoever they are. Its the same with loyalty to a country or a culture. Its easy to recognise, I get it deep in my gut, whether a person or an ideology or an institution is good, or dodgy.
There are some unpleasant people who find in religion all they need – especially absolute moral authority, fear, conformity, group think – at present in the UK evangelical Christian community we are making a start on exposing and deposing them, but it is slow work.
My guts are very uneasy right now, about too many things, in too many areas of my life – that’s why we are all so stressed (or, as Wes Streeting, the Young Pretender, prefers to say, “medicalising our anxiety”.
As Quakers say “There is that of God in everyone”.
Soemtimes it takes a bit of spotting, though.
The idea that Greenland could simply “choose” to sell itself treats people as assets, not citizens. That’s not how modern sovereignty works. Even a referendum wouldn’t be a free choice if it took place under pressure, threat or economic coercion.
And this isn’t just another hard‑nosed negotiation. Trump has blown apart the assumption that Western disputes happen inside a shared framework of norms and restraint. Once a leader stops recognising those boundaries, everything becomes about raw power.
The real issue isn’t whether Greenland is “for sale.” It’s whether Europe finally understands that it can’t outsource its security or its sovereignty to a partner that no longer plays by the old rules.