Trump Threatens No Need 'To Think Purely of Peace'
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Donald Trump reportedly sent an ominous warning to the Prime Minister of Norway, suggesting that war could be on the table in his pursuit of Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
In a letter shared late Sunday by PBS journalist Nick Schifrin from the U.S. President to Norway's leader Jonas Gahr Stre, Trump warned that after not winning last year's Nobel Peace Prize "for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS," he "no longer feel[s] an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America."
Trump has in the past conflated the honor, which is given by the Norway-based Nobel Committee, with the nation and its government. Of his denial of the Peace Prize, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity earlier this month: "It's been a very big embarrassment to the country of Norway. Whether they have anything to do with it or not. I think they do. They say they don't."
Trump's letter to Stre went on to tie his warning of no longer thinking "purely of peace" to his campaign to take over Greenland.
"Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a 'right of ownership' anyway?" he continued. "There are no written documents, it's only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland."
The National Security Council also reportedly forwarded the letter to European ambassadors in Washington, according to Schifrin's X post.
Stre confirmed to Norwegian news outlet VG that he received the letter, saying that Trump's note was a response to an earlier message where he and Finland's President Alexander Stubb sought a conversation with their U.S. counterpart.
TIME could not independently verify the letter. The White House has not immediately replied to TIME's request for comment.
Trump's message to Stre comes as he escalated pressure on fellow member-states in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense alliance to deliver Greenland to him. On Saturday, Trump announced on Truth Social that starting Feb. 1, he's imposing a 10% tariff on a handful of NATO members, including Norway and Denmark, for sending troops to Greenland. That tariff will remain—and even increase to 25% come June—"until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland," he said.
NATO countries have fiercely opposed Trump's plan to occupy Greenland, and have criticized the U.S. President's attempts to pressure its allies with tariffs, which leaders from Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden have described as "blackmail," to hand over the Danish territory.
Following the threat, European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have reportedly considered using the European Union's anti-coercion instrument—the bloc's retaliatory trade tool nicknamed the trade "bazooka" for how it could upend trans-Atlantic trade. The "bazooka" has never been used before on any country, but should the E.U. choose to, it could severely limit U.S. access to E.U. trade markets, through either tariffs or other import control measures.
Most Americans and even some Republicans are not in support of Trump's plan to take Greenland, especially if it involves force.
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Trump seems to be almost directly connecting his threats to Greenland to his butthurt over not being given the Nobel Peace Prize.
And many people in this country have been trained to accept this shit as normal.
any bets on who the first casualties will be and where, in the proposed maga war with greenland?
Every week (almost daily) this imbecile is ruining the reputation of our nation and causing damage that will take time (decades in many cases) to undo. He has irresponsibly and pointlessly burned through decades of international political capital built by USA's goodwill.
He is like a tornado ripping through a neighborhood. All we (the people) can do (for now) is watch the carnage.
And wait for the midterms . . .
Trump is turning our closest friends and allies, the European democracies, into enemies. Everything Trump is doing is contrary to America's national interest. The failure of the Republicans in Congress to take action against the vile Trumpist regime will long be seen as treason.
As I have noted before G2, we are living in historic times. We are living through the worst PotUS and most corrupt/incompetent administration in US history.
Congress is the only body that can rein in a corrupt, rogue PotUS and if ever there was a time to do this, it is now. They are despicable.
We are living in historic times, the collapse of America as a moral force and as the leader of "the free world". As you have noted, and I have also previously stated, the Trumpist regime is causing severe long-term, if not permanent, damage to America's reputation and standing in the world. We will never recover from much of the harm they have already caused.
Not only is the Trumpist regime conducting military operations around the world, and threatening more (against our closest friends!), they have flooded the streets of American cities with forces intended to terrorize the American people.
That is America today.
God, please give the voters the common sense and intelligence this coming November to vote the Trump sycophants out of Congress.
How is it that his supporters can stomach the level of narcissism from this lunatic? He actually comes out and states that he would have backed off of Greenland (which he claims is of critical strategic importance to acquire) if he had won the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump supporters, think of that. This abysmal human being would have ignored something he claims is critical for the USA (bullshit, by the way) if he had been given a personal prize.
Trump supporters: you support this petulant man-child, you want this buffoon as the face and voice of our nation, you want this demonstrably irrational and superficial lunatic to have more power than any human being on the planet?
Owning the libs is more important to many of them than avoiding world war 3.
“Trump supporters:…”
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” ~ Voltaire
That's a stretch.
"FOX BUSINESS: What can we anticipate from Trump's Davos speech?
HASSETT: There's gonna be some look at the new world order that President Trump is creating"
Trump adviser says president is creating 'the new world order'
did anyone vote for Trump to "create a new world order" ? I dont remember seeing that during his insanity filled campaign rallies.
‘did anyone vote for Trump to "create a new world order"
No, voted for him to unfuck what the dementia boy and his DEI VP did to this country….and he is doing a fantastic job so far…with three more years to go
I dont think Trumps new world order is particularly related to Americas immigration issues.
Does Trump want to be king of the world? Yes or no.
@5.1.2 is a perfect example of a delusional comment.
This seed illustrates, yet again, how Trump is engaging in pointless damage to please whatever twisted view he is holding. Yet this comment absurdly ignores Trump's irrational idiocy and instead praises Trump.
If Trump were to indeed shoot someone, this kind of commentary would surely find some way to spin him as a superhero.
This is too delusional a comment for me to believe it expresses a genuine (or at least, rational) belief; I conclude that it is simply low-grade trolling.
[deleted][✘]
No.
Why? Because he has shown no intention of such. He has a policy of America first, as it should be.
That is much different than most leftists believe America should be last. I did not defend this country for twenty years to watch this country devolve into left wing garbage.
You want Trump to fight whatever you conceive as 'the left' but apparently do not care what damage he causes.
How do you reconcile this irrational thinking? America First does not include trashing our much-needed international relationships. That does fundamental damage to our nation. How can you not see this??
Trump going after Greenland is further tarnishing our reputation and taking us out of the position of leader of the free world. How can you possibly see this as good for the nation? It is insane.
He has shown every such intention. All he has to do is redefine where America is, or should be. So Venezuela is now part of America. Next is Greenland or maybe Panama. After that? Iceland? Canada? There is no reason to think he will ever stop.
The new Department of War, Putin head of the Board of Peace based on a billion dollar buy in, pardoning South American drug traffickers, pardoning all kinds of fraudsters who cheated Americans, pardoning the J6 rioters who attacked America in our Capitol, and declaring war on American cities attacking American citizens.
No Need for Peace, Trump's real motto.
All while Trump voters and some lefties said that Hillary or Biden or Kamala were the war mongers.
Everyone forgetting Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Karl Rove who started America down the path to war and division. Republicans refused to take a different path.
Does anyone on earth who is in their right mind think that some of the money from this "Peace Board" fund won't make its way into Trump's personal pockets?
Batshit Insanity – Digby's Hullabaloo
Anne Applebaum has a piece this morning at the Atlantic about that mortifying text to the Norweigian Prime Minister that’s getting a lot of traction:
Anne Applebaum is a very savvy commentator and she knows her stuff. The only thing I have any disagreement with her here is that to a great degree Trump has alreay caused permanent damage to America's interests As one example, will America ever recover from the damage to America's interests the Trumpist regime caused by its closure of USAID? The answer is clearly no.
IMO it will be a long time coming, if ever, that Canada will ever again allow iitself to be as allied with and friends of the USA as it had been for centuries. Canada is already forging a new strategic relationship with China, so maybe Trump will start considering invading Canada. I'm sure Trump will use the coming renegotiation of CUSMA to fuck both Canada and Mexico.
It’s probably even worse than that. Once he declares Greenland to be US territory, he’ll deport the population to Denmark, or maybe El Salvador if they complain.
So now, whatever happens next in Greenland is Norway’s fault?
Of course, trump never takes the blame for anything....ever.