International, Politics, Society

Trump Cancels Denmark Visit After Prime Minister Rejects His Offer To Buy Greenland

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen would be justified to be a tad confused. An official visit was planned to Denmark with President Donald Trump who made headlines by suddenly saying that he might buy Greenland. The response from Denmark was as predictable as if Frederiksen suddenly announced an interest in buying Rhode Island. She declined the offer. The response from Trump was to cancel the visit since they will not sell him part of their country. Trump later added insult to injury by calling Frederiksen “nasty” and “not very nice” in swatting back a sudden public offer to buy a huge amount of territory from Denmark.

I have no problem with a president exploring a purchase of an area like Greenland (which has been tried before), but it is done not on twitter or a presser. It is done through back channels to explore any interest. There is no interest. The public declaration from Trump however compelled the Prime Minister to state that the proposal was viewed as “absurd.”

Trump responded by saying that the refusing to sell off part of their lands made a meeting unnecessary despite Denmark being a long-standing ally. Trump simply stated “based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greeland, I will be postponing our meeting schedule in two weeks for another time …”

Donald J. Trump✔ · 16h

Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time….

Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump

….The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!84.2K7:51 PM – Aug 20, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy30.6K people are talking about this

This is all embarrassing for the United States. If we were setting up the meeting solely to discuss the purpose of a large amount of Denmark’s territory, it should have been vetted before in private. We cannot run a major nation through Twitter and oft-hand comments.

This is a NATO ally which was preparing for an official visit of the President of the United States “to celebrate Denmark’s close relationship to the US”. . First it must deal with a sudden offer to buy part of their territory and then a brush off because they refused to do so. This type of conduct is destroying our standing with the world.

Former foreign minister Kristian Jensen put it simply in describing the “total chaos” caused by Trump’s statements: “It has gone from a great opportunity for enhanced dialogue between allies to a diplomatic crisis.” 

192 thoughts on “Trump Cancels Denmark Visit After Prime Minister Rejects His Offer To Buy Greenland”

  1. Examples of land deals: Alaska and the Louisiana Purchase.

    Whomever leaked the interest in obtaining access to Greenland did Russia a great service. Greenland would have strategic importance as a military base in the event of a possible action against Russia. Now that it has exploded Social Media, it is likely that Russia is exerting pressure on Denmark to negate any possibility of ceding such an advantage to the United States.

    Everyone mocking the very idea of obtaining access to Greenland is not only unaware of the history of US interest in the land, but also benefits Russia as stated above.

    1. As usual, you’ve been listening to Faux News again. NO ONE disputes that Greenland would be a valuable asset. That’s not the point. The point is the narcissistic arrogance of Trump simply announcing he was going to pursue the purchase this country when there is no interest in selling. That’s like Mexico announcing that they’re going to pursue purchasing Texas because they want it back, or France announcing that they’re going to explore getting Louisiana back. We would all say: “where the hell do you get off thinking you could purchase Texas or Louisiana?” In his usual narcissistic rage, when the Danish PM, a woman, called the idea “absurd”, Trump called her “nasty” and claimed she was attacking the US. No, she was attacking him–the arrogant, malignant narcissist.

      1. Now “Natacha” is missing Hannity and Russia in her post. There is only Faux and Trump in this one. How do we know this is really Natacha and not someone slightly less extreme hijacking her avatar?

        In any case, the interest has been around for decades. When Trump revisited it internally, the interest was leaked by a saboteur to the media to scuttle it before it could ever be broached appropriately. The United States made no announcement; its research into the topic was leaked and then had to be dealt with.

        Score one for the Russians.

        It’s really quite undiplomatic to publicly and repeatedly insult the leader of the strong foreign nation just ahead of your scheduled meeting. Perhaps she will learn better diplomacy in future. I doubt Trump will ever accept an insult lying down. So this is her learning experience. She desired a meeting with a stronger country than her own, headed by a President known for taking offense to insults. She insulted him publicly. The interest in Greenland by the US goes back decades, was well known to Denmark, and it was obviously a leak. The result did not take an astrophysicist to deduce.

        1. So, now, for the second time, you try to avoid the merits of criticism of your comments by trying to be cutesy about my criticisms of Faux News. But, you haven’t addressed Trump’s lack of respect for Denmark and its PM. Instead, in a typical Kellanne Pivot, you accuse Ms. Friedriksen of being “quite undiplomatic to publicly and repeatedly insult” Trump because she apparently was not supposed to take offense at his arrogant announcement that he was going to pursue purchase of Greenland. Instead, according to you, she was supposed to know that he is a malignant narcissist, that he retaliates, and so she was required to have soft-pedaled her response. Therefore, in your typical head-up-the-ass blind worship of Trump, it was her fault for calling his announced pursuit of purchasing Greenland “absurd”.

          It WAS absurd, and even more. It was arrogant, presumptuous and unbecoming for a US President to treat an ally in this manner. He had it coming and more. He started the insulting by disrespecting the autonomy and dignity of Denmark. She didn’t start this squabble–he did, with his stupid, arrogant pronouncement about purchasing Greenland. She WAS very diplomatic–he wasn’t, and if you didn’t have Trump Derangement Syndrome, you’d understand this. The person who needs a “learning experience” is Trump. How long has it taken the United States to forge alliances and trust with its allies? He shreds them every single day with his stupidity and arrogance. it will take more years than we are stuck with him to undo the damage. America is better than Trump, but we have work to do to prove this to the rest of the world.

          1. Natacha – your posts generally tend to be really vicious stream of consciousness with unsubstantiated or disproven accusations. If you think Trump flew into some sort of rage, then you have not witnessed a real one.

            When you calmly post something without insults, then I would be happy to have a discussion with you. As of now, you seem very over excited when you post.

            You might want to consider the implications of leaking the interest in re-examining Greenland, in a way that not only sabotaged any proper discussions, but benefitted Russia.

  2. What’s so sad is how even intelligent people are easily duped/controlled by the narrative smears pushed by the MSM. Do you REALLY think President Trump just decided he wanted to BUY Greenland? Or is the logical assumption that a variety of departments of the US government (ie DOD) have suggested this as an option to improve strategic defense, provide potential resources, etc. Why do smart people become like sheep when the MSM pushes their absurd “narratives” (lies, smears, stories)???

    1. Yes, we do believe that Trump, in his typical knee-jerk, disorganized fashion, simply just announced that he was pursuing the purchase of Greenland. It is well-known that he has either fired long-term State Department and diplomatic officials who served under multiple administrations, or that he doesn’t listen to those still available to advise him. He doesn’t listen because of his pathological narcissism–no one knows more about anything than he does, so why should he waste his time listening to anyone about anything? He is a very-stable genius. Just ask him. He’ll tell you.

      He always tips his hand to the driving force, which is probably Russia, which owns him. The reason I say this is because he was trying to make the case for Russia being re-admitted to the G-7, and he lied, repeatedly, that the reason Russia was kicked out was because it outsmarted Barak Obama, so Obama got Russia expelled out of spite. The true reason was Russia’s invasion of the Crimea, which it sill occupies. Russia was sanctioned by the entire group for doing this, as it violates their provisions. Russia would love to have Greenland under the control of a puppet US President they own. They’d love to have the uranium and gas and oil resources, too. But, in his typical ham-handed fashion, he blurted out the plot and got shot down very quickly. To retaliate, he cancelled the state dinner with Denmark and called its PM “nasty”, claiming she insulted the U.S.. Her “absurd” comment was directed to HIM, not the US. He is NOT the US. America is better than Trump.

      1. More spam drivel about Trump narcissist, p grabber, etc today from Natch, boring

        clue to Natch: Russia does not NEED Greenland. They have SIBERIA. They are not even close to exploring all its bounty. Talk about oil gas and mineral resources. wow.

        https://www.britannica.com/place/Siberia

        1. Siberia isn’t close to the US. Greenland is. Greenland is rich in uranium, too.

          1. Too bad Hillary didn’t win. She already gave Russia Uranium One. If she was President, she could have gained access to Greenland and sold its uranium to Russia, too. Bill could have received millions in speaking fees for giving inaugural speeches of their operations there. Where’s that Reset Button?

            1. No, Honey. The lie that HRC gave uranium to Russia is a lie fomented and repeated by Faux News, and especially Hannity all the time. Seven different agencies approved this deal, and HRC did not sign the agreement. Look it up on your Google machine.

              1. Natacha – I will try to explain how elections work one more time. Now, pay attention.

                Russia did not “hack” the election. They did not create fraudulent votes, or hack into voting machines.

                The electoral college allows all areas of the United States to have a say. Hillary overwhelmingly won just a few counties, but she overwhelmingly lost most counties in the United States, which means that she did not have the support of most of the places in the United States.

                The Electoral College is part of our Constitution. Therefore, every president who has lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College was legitimate. If a president lost the Electoral College, but somehow gained the White House, that would be illegitimate. You seem to have great difficulty accepting the rules of the Electoral College, or the fact that every voting district in America gets a say. You also seem very determined to ensure the most voting districts won’t have a say in future elections.

                Should the Electoral College ever be abolished, then it would disenfranchise most of the United States, including some poor regions. It would prevent a candidate from bothering with most of the country, which could have devastating effects. In addition, it would be a great inducement for voting fraud, as it would be clear exactly which districts would need to be hacked.

                Hillary Clinton was a very unpopular candidate. Support for her has dropped from “the most qualified candidate in history” to nearly completely evaporated. There is little question among Democrats now that Hillary lost in most voting districts in America due to her own flaws and lies.

                Now, I want you to take a deep breath, and look long and hard of this map of how voting districts across America voted in 2016. Think about what this means.

                https://fineartamerica.com/featured/historic-2016-presidential-election-map-daniel-hagerman.html?product=canvas-print&completeProductSku=artworkid%5B19462499%5D-productid%5Bcanvasprintstretched%5D-imagewidth%5B8.000%5D-imageheight%5B6.875%5D-paperid%5Bglossycanvas%5D-wrapwidth%5B1.5%5D-wrapcolor%5Bblack%5D&gclid=CjwKCAjw-vjqBRA6EiwAe8TCkzFnJ2xOCOS4g2c_XuQMIHqCm6g3tWowQiVvOFbQDG9SB4s4zwy3hRoCUGUQAvD_BwE

                1. Karen S says: August 22, 2019 at 5:34 PM:
                  “Natacha – I will try to explain how elections work one more time. Now, pay attention.”

                  Spare us.

          2. I think Siberia, Big Diomede Island, is our closest non-contiguous neighbor, even closer than the Bahamas. You obviously have been watching Madow again and are poorly informed.

      2. She’s missing Hannity this time, and were is Fox/Faux? She is not following the rubric. Points given for Trump, Russia, in control of Russia. Deducted for missing Hannity and Fox/Faux. Wasted opportunity to hit all talking points and word salad. Although, great effort at managing to twist the loss of strategic advantage over Russia through Greenland access into somehow being a goal of Russia for the US to hold Greenland, and a base that could cover Russia.

        1. Third time now you’ve tried the Kellyanne Pivot to avoid the merits by pointing to my valid criticism of Faux News and Hannity and the fact that you parrot what you hear on that network.

          How about addressing the fact that Trump LIED about the reason Russia got kicked out of the G-8 (now G-7)? THAT is the topic.

          1. Pffft. You lost the 2016 election, you have unabated TDS, and your heroins (as opposed to heroines) in the US House and MSM have little to no public support. Your opinion means nothing. Zippo. Nada. Just because you can evade the IP blocks that Darren imposes on you trolls doesn’t mean you are welcome here

            Come to the Right Side and expunge your evil demons before you are deported to San Francisco and have to squat in dung forevermore

            💩

        2. Karen, I agree with you about her references to Hannity. She is watching too much Madow and getting mentally disorganized.

          1. Natacha is not “getting mentally disorganized”. That ship sailed long ago.

              1. Tell that to Natacha. Looks like you have great authority here to tell people to “stop it”.

                1. It’s silly juvenile nonsense, this:

                  Anonymous says: August 22, 2019 at 10:01 PM

                  “Natacha is not “getting mentally disorganized”. That ship sailed long ago.”

                  1. Feel free to again post comments that have already been posted. In lieu of any original ideas, it’ll give you something to write about.

                    2. Maybe if you show your credentials giving you the authority to tell people to “just stop it” or “FO”, those who displeases you would comply.
                      Otherwise, acting as Natacha’s loyal lapdog and giving commands to others make you look like an even bigger fool than you’ve already shown yourself to be.

                    3. Glad to see that you’re above writing “silly juvenile nonsense” with your “just stop it” and “FO” remarks.
                      I just noted another example in another comment section of how you elevate discussions, and I responded accordingly to one of your highly intellectual comments that you made in the thread about the Venezuela trip.

                    4. Love the way that others get under your skin. Who’s the fool? It’s the anonymous commenter @ 12:14…2:04, 2:13…

                      LOL

                      We know who you are.

    1. “We know who you are”
      It would be a first if anonymous, Natacha’s lapdog, actually “knew” anything. Maybe the “we” who “know who you are” will enlighten us, share “their” knowledge of who’s who.
      If anonymous teamed up with others who actually had some brains, maybe “they” actually “know” . It’s a cinch that anonymous doesn’t have enough going on upstairs to figure anything out.

  4. A seriously ill man, we are dealing with here. I wonder how long more it’s going to take the US to see this.

    1. Guinness,
      Biden will fade from the scene when the U.S. realizes he’s seriously I’ll.

  5. Hilary Clinton just took a DNA test and found out she is 1/1024th President.

  6. I disagree. One country buying part of another is wrong. There are people living in Greenland, who are natural citizens of Greenland (or Denmark), with all the rights and privileges that comes with that. If America buys Greenland, what happens to them? Do they automatically become American citizens? Do they want to lose their citizenship? Should they have to chose between their homes or they citizenship? If they don’t become Americans then what? Will they be subject to our laws, but without any voting rights? I know that this was common in the past, but is wrong and should not happen in the modern age.

    2. “One country buying part of another is wrong.”
      *******************************
      Give back Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma and most of the land in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Minnesota! The French need it. Oui?

    3. Give them a referendum on the issue so they can decide for themselves. Or is that too democratic for you?

    4. MollyG – why do you assume that a land deal would commence without the input or consent of Greenlanders?

      Greenland is only semi autonomous because there’s only like 50,000 people there. By contrast, about 4 million people live in Los Angeles, CA. They run a lot of their own affairs in their town/island, but they are part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

      I do agree with you that there are land deals that go against the interests of its people. Hong Kong is a good example. It should, actually, have been incorporated into the UK. Great Britain was granted Hong Kong in perpetuity by the Qing Dynasty, but they later signed a 99 year lease to get more land. When that lease was up, they granted all their land, along with the leased portion, to Communist China. I suspect that UK was more concerned with getting rid of its colonial past than concern for what would happen to Westernized people of Hong Kong under communist rule. They were not granted full UK citizenship at a crucial time. That would have afforded the people a choice, to become UK citizens, free to leave if they don’t like Chinese rule, or to become Chinese citizens.

      Any transfer of Greenland absolutely should depend upon the will of its people. A referendum should be held, perhaps with the option to keep dual citizenship with Denmark and the US, providing options. The great joke is that Iceland is green and Greenland is barren and icy. 50,000 Greenlanders might just want to relocate to the US, or gain better jobs if the US developed the island. In addition to the potential for military base and natural resources development, Greenland has a thriving ecosystem for marine biologists.

      That’s all been chucked, however, because of a leaker seeking to undermine the President and United States and/or aid Russia.

      1. My God are you deep into Trump Derangement Syndrome. Nothing’s been “chucked”, because there never was anything to chuck. Denmark owns Greenland, which is not for sale. Trump’s narcissistic delusion that he can simply announce his intention to purchase a country is just that–a delusion. The Danish PM wasn’t “seeking to undermine” anyone. It is arrogant, insulting and demeaning to publicly announce an intention to pursue the purchase a land owned by another country that isn’t for sale. Doing this shows a total disregard for the dignity, autonomy and rights of Denmark, and is a slap in the face of the Danish people. The mentality falls along the lines of grabbing womens’ genitals—“I want, and therefore, I take. Screw you and what you want”. American Presidents do not behave like this.

        The Dotard has no respect for the rights or dignity of other people or even other countries. The Danes don’t have to sell Greenland or even discuss such a thing because Trump wants them to. The Danish PM quickly put the Dotard in his place. That was not an insult to the United States or “undermining” of it. Trump does NOT represent the United States or its values. Most Americans did not vote for him and most have consistently disapproved of him since he invaded the White House. Those of us who are reasonable are concerned that other countries will be concerned that even after Trump is long-gone there could be someone else down the road who doesn’t respect the rights and autonomy of even allies. He may have done long-term damage to America’s reputation for stability and leadership.

        1. Natacha – Trump Derangement Syndrome does not mean what you think it means.

  7. I thought the U.S. of A. was just part of the world corporate empire, controlled via the 3 city-states:

    (1) economically through the City of London,
    (2) militarily through the District of Columbia, and
    (3) spiritually through the Vatican.

    #LexFori – D.C.

    So, I wonder who Trump gets his orders from…a partial land grab of Greenland is very intriguing…

    1. All roads lead to Rome. The “City of London,” was at one time, run by the Vatican.

      “The City” was located on land, owned and controlled by the Vatican, b/c it was the area surrounding St Paul’s Cathedral, but this not a very well-known fact.

  8. IMHO, Trump can only think of one thing, himself. He is completely, completely incapable of having a micro gram of compassion for another person. Bu this Greenland thing is oner the top. He is mentally ill. If there is another explanation for this, please explain. The man is sick. As much as I hate Pence, perhaps we should declare trump mentally incompetent and let Pence waste away until someone else is elected.

    trump is sick, very sick.

  9. I understand why a country with a population of 5 million that is incapable of defending itself would want our President to pay a visit…Americans, on the other hand, couldn’t care less. Turley is all alone, clutching his pearls, on this one.

    1. Ivan, if you think Turley is ‘alone’ on this you are seriously isolated in the rightwing media bubble.

  10. Perhaps the actual inhabitants of Greenland should be allowed a referendum on the issue. Which would you rather be, Americans or Danes? They wouldn’t even have to swim the Rio Grande to become Americans.

  11. The New England Journal has jumped the shark: its most recent and current edition is on climate change. Depressing.

    Climate Crisis and Health
    https://www.nejm.org/climate-crisis

    A collection of articles and other resources describing effects of climate change on physical and psychological health and on the function of health care systems, including resources to support action by physicians and other health care professionals.

  12. here’s a shot from the good old days, Eddie Murphy skewering a lot of protected groups. this is called comedy folks. it’s ok to laugh

    82 a good year. back when SNL was funny

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1TKGtai7og

    this is relevant because of how funny it was the tweet trump did with the hotel in greenland. hilarious! POTUS has a sense of humor. finally! Thank God

    1. Murphy is among the comedy greats.

      And yes many say it’s so un-presidential for the Trump to attempt humor.

      I guess they would have him read words written by someone else like a robot as most of the others have done for decades.

      Me, I like a lot of the way Trump handles himself, but he’d better keep a handle on the traitors trying to get/stay in his inner circle.

      BTW Kurtz, Murphy had a staring role in the comedy movie Trading Places.

      It was put together by a guy who has since passed, Arron Russo, also known for the movie From Freedom To Fascism.

      Russo at one time had a big club in Chicago, & commented on how corrupt Chicago govt was back the & would shake him down.

      I don’t know his whole history, but did you ever run into him?

      1. Did not know him. Know the movie. I know a lot of people liked it but I thought it misused the world fascism. Russo was obviously a liberterian. He also had some strange legal theories that I could not accept. But a lot of people were inspired by this film.I had no idea until you said so that he was actually a successful producer prior to that foray.

        About Chicago clubs. I know more than a little about clubs and restaurants in chicago.

        Start with free food. The cops always used to walk to the front of the line and get free food, anywhere. The CPD has officially prohibited that now. But when I lived there, oh, it was the norm. Is that bribery? shakedown? Anywhere else it was considered that, but in Chicago, a trifle.

        Licensing: licenses and development permits in Chicago were often accompanied by cash payments. I was never a witness nor a party to that, I just heard a lot of hearsay complaining about it. Maybe it’s better now, I don’t know, i don’t listen to such things anymore.

        Organized crime: a better explanation than myself is available from the snitch i mean cooperating witness, Robert Cooley

        https://www.amazon.com/When-Corruption-Was-King-Chicago/dp/1483047458

        “Bob Cooley was the Chicago Mafia’s fixer of court cases. During the 1970s and ‘80s, Cooley bribed judges, juries, and cops to keep his Mob clients out of jail. Paid handsomely for his services, he lived fast and enjoyed the protection of the men he served. Yet, by the end of the ‘90s, without a pending conviction, he became the star witness in nine federal trials that took down the most powerful Mafia family in the history of organized crime. When Corruption Was King is the story of a Mob lawyer turned mole with a million-dollar contract on his head who went back and forth between sin and sainthood—a turbulent youth, a stint on Chicago’s police force, law school, and then the inner sanctum of Chicago’s wiseguys. He dined with Mob bosses and shared “last suppers” with friends before their gangland executions. In a startling act of conscience, Cooley walked into the office of the U.S. Organized Crime Strike Force and agreed to wear a wire on the very same Mafia overlords who had made him a player. This book, including eight pages of memorable photographs, reveals the personal story behind the federal government’s most successful Mafia investigation.”

        What the publisher’s blurb above does not explain, is how Cooley laid out in the book the overlap between the Democrat party in Chicago and “the Outfit.”

        It’s a very telling read. I think, that Cooley has no conscience. He was just a braggart. He got underpaid by the Outfit and Pat Marcy, he owed more money on his gambling debts than he could pay, and out of pique snitched on them to the FBI.

        But he does have a valid brag: he is the only lawyer to have fixed a murder trial in the USA, testified to that effect, and is out there somewhere today walking a free man, as his former clients are now in jail (or deceased like Harry Aleman) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Aleman

        Many people have heard of Operation Greylord, fewer have heard of its ugly sister operation, Operation Gambat

        Voting fraud? The Democrats in Chicago used to buy a signed, blank absentee ballot from residents of Cabrini Green many decades ago, for five dollars each, as Cooley stated in the book. According to him that is. believe it or not. Helps explain why they used to get about 90% of the vote in Crook county I guess. Oh, but the Democrat boosters here would have us believe such things NEVER happen in the USA anymore. Maybe not– what would I know. Not much. See if you can find Bob Cooley and ask him. He’s out there, somewhere, supposedly not using fake ID from the fed witness program. I bet that’s a lie. You never know what you can believe from a snitch.

  15. This is a NATO ally which was preparing for an official visit of the President of the United States “to celebrate Denmark’s close relationship to the US”.

    Of course Denmark wants to celebrate as they’ve been allowed by previous administrations to not meet their financial obligation to NATO every year. They’re paying 1.21% of their GDP ($4.3B) instead of 2% (7,18B). Maybe there are back channel discussions regarding Denmark’s NATO commitment and the Trump administration is being told Denmark is more than happy to have the American taxpayers foot Denmark’s bill.

    The diplomatic crisis is Denmark just discovered their net worth to the United States is not going to be measured in state visits.

    1. Olly, NATO members agreed to increase average defense spending to approximately 2% of their budgets in 2014 under pressure from Obama. Some have reached that goal, others not, but Trump’s bluster has not been effective, nor is it, or should it be the basis for our relations with our allies. By contrast, Trump wants to get his country back in the G7 without any concessions, including exiting the Crimea, which is why they were expelled. Maybe you can explain how this is a sane foreign policy, other than “dear leader can do no wrong”.

        1. Exactly Paul. Most NATO countries have not met this obligation…ever. How many billions of dollars have the American taxpayers dished out to cover our NATO ally’s shortfalls.

        2. Paul, show us a credible source that documents how much Denmark owes. We don’t know where you’re getting this.

          It’s odd how you and Olly are quick to condemn Denmark simply because Trump is attacking them. Which is typical of the Trump era.

          Every day Trump attacks some nation, institution or individual and typically Trump supporters pursue the attack. This is not a normal pattern. We have never had a president lead daily attacks out of sheer spite. There’s no healthy need for such malice. Leaders with good intentions aren’t focused on spite.

            1. So Paul, you’re arguing that Trump has good reason to rupture relations with Denmark? The idea being that allies are so cheap that presidents can diss them every day? Like there never comes a point when all these insults compromise the western alliance? And ‘no’, Vladimir Putin derives no such pleasure in seeing our alliance crumble from Trump’s insults?

              1. Peter – I think Denmark dissed us first. Then, in a very Trumpian way, they got dissed back. I think it was Harry Truman who said, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.”

                1. No, Paul, you’re totally wrong. Trump raised the entire issue by tweet. And the fact that you claim Denmark started this rift is typical. In the minds of Trump supporters, it is ‘never’ Trump’s fault.

                  2. Hill – actually, someone leaked US interest in Greenland, exploded social media, and then Trump commented on a meme that showed a Trump tower in Greenland with the comment, “I would not do this.” How dare he deny that he would do this?!

                    Now, I actually agree that Trump’s handling of the social media firestorm over Greenland was not effective. However, whoever leaked the interest did Russia a solid, as one of the reasons why we have historically shown interest was in the strategic advantage over Russia, as well as natural resources.

                    What we have seen is a lot of lock-step mocking, showing total ignorance over the historic interest in Greenland, or the fact that the entire country meets the population requirements of a large town. People jumped to assume that Trump wanted to acquire a country for personal business purposes, without taking the time to research the issue. That’s all been chucked, however, due to a leak.

                    The Danish PM showed a remarkable lack of diplomatic expertise in publicly mocking the President. It does not matter what she feels about him personally. She is a leader expected to diplomatically handle other world leaders. She already comes to the table from a position of weakness, heading a minor country. Why publicly damage relations with a stronger country?

                    This was a lost opportunity for she and Trump to have laughed this off good naturally, minimizing the blast zone from a saboteur.

                  3. It was dumb I guess. ok, bad on trump. the good news, it’s insignificant. moving on now.

                2. “I think Denmark dissed us first. Then, in a very Trumpian way, they got dissed back.”

                  Give us a source, Paul.

              2. Hill:

                My father was a lead negotiator dealing with foreign nations as part of his career. Would you suppose that publicly insulting a foreign leader prior to meeting with him is a wise diplomatic move? Of all of my father’s stories, this maneuver was not one of them.

                1. Karen: I posted a timeline at the top of this column to create more space. The Danish P M initially thought the idea was a just a rumor and ‘not’ a serious proposal by the U.S. President.

                  1. Hill – throughout history, there have been diplomatic missteps. This would be one of them. On the one hand, the Danish PM did not limit her remarks to the ones you mentioned. They were certainly meant to be disrespectful. That was a rather foreseeable mistake. After all, she was slated to meet with the President known for refusing to let insults slide off his back.

                    Another mistake was Trump responding in a way that put gasoline on a candle flame. As I’ve said earlier, both made missteps in what should have been companionably laughed off.

                    The original problem is that a saboteur leaked it to the press, which then ran with it, fanning excited readers into plastering the internet with how stupid Trump was for being interested in Greenland. Obviously, such people did not trouble to spend 5 minutes researching the history of US interest in Greenland.

                    So, a saboteur made it impossible for the topic to even be properly brought up, and tipped off not only the world, but Russia to a move that would have had logistical advantage over them, and they whipped up the world in a mocking frenzy against Trump. This weakens America’s geopolitical position.

                    The leak is a very serious problem.

                    What else has been skipped is that since this was never discussed properly, no one ever bothered to ask the 50,000 or so people of Greenland what they wanted.

                    Personally, I think we need to resolve Puerto Rico before we take on any more land.

                    1. Are there any diplomatic actions by Trump to date that were not …cough, cough….. “missteps”?

                  2. Trump’s conflict approach to China trade is no misstep. It is an absolutely necessary negotiation and one that’s necessarily adversarial. We should hope for a good outcome. The Danish flap is a distraction. Perhaps as you folks allege, an intentional one. Right now, it’s all about China.

                    Why is China not in the G7? because the G7 is defined by the IMF and the IMF is controlled by the US.

                    Russia used to be in the G8 and the excited Western over reaction to Crimea caused it to become the G7. In that conflict it was Russia that won out. China was an even bigger winner.

                    There is a game of global economic leadership now between china and the US and the G7 countries are on the US side like it or not and they better get down and pray to God that Donald has a succesful and strong outcome against the Chinese. Or as a group we will all be a lot poorer 15 years out from now.

                    You see, if China steals enough IP secrets to get to AGI before we do, oh boy, then we will be on the short end of the stick. AGI is the Manhattan project of today. AGI will be the biggest thing since firearms. Bigger than nuclear power really.

                    https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02360-7

                    And “war” is not just when people are firing bombs. War in the modern era is mostly about finance, most of all. And thus we are in a war with those who are outside the US dominated system of trade and finance.

                    All human social life is competition and conflict and it was ever so..

                    OF all the BS i say on this blog, when I say this is the biggest national economic and existential factor for humankind that nobody regularly talks about, trust me, it is. dont gloss over this folks. it’s like climate change. if its coming, then it’s coming whether you think it is or not, and it will be a very big deal for us all one way or another.

                    https://www.quantumrun.com/prediction/first-artificial-general-intelligence-society-future

                    1. Trump has already abandoned and ceded any pretense of us leading a new world economy based on technology and international cooperation while focusing on coal, steel, and automobiles. He’s too stupid and ego driven mercurial to understand the future or lead it. By pulling out of the TPP, the Paris Agreement, investments and incentives in green tech, and now destroying our farm exports he’s setting us back a decade.

          2. “daily attacks out of sheer spite. There’s no healthy need for such malice…..”

            it is what the MSM and liberals have done for decades but when a multibillionaire entertainer, real estate mogul turned US President does it to rub Hillary’s loss in their noses, well, suddenly they get Catholic like the Pope.

            You and your ilk are predictable and Trump plays you like the warped, out of tuned fiddle that you are all…lots of noise

            Get out of your Left Wing bubble and join the parade…you lost!

            😉

            1. Here we have an unusually deluded ‘Anonymous’ commenting from the Dark Ages. Their argument seems to be that liberals have been mean for years so Trump’s spiteful, daily attacks are perfectly justified. It’s just a broad “What About?” so vague it essentially amounts to, “No, ‘you’, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah”.

              Ironically this reply completely validate my initial comment regarding Trump supporters and their mindless tendency to pile on whoever Trump attacks.

            3. As to Trump being a “real estate mogul”, someone actually did a study in which they took the inheritance he received from his father and assumed he turned it over to a broker for investment. They compared the return he would have gotten by doing absolutely nothing–passive investment of his inheritance, with his alleged net worth now, and guess what they found? He would have come out even or possibly ahead by doing absolutely nothing. So, the notion that Trump is a wildly-successful self-made real estate mogul due to his financial savvy, talent and charm is a myth.

              1. i read it. typical half-truths and misqhoted experts emanating from arrogant journalists who understand little and pretend they understand all.

                what they don’t explain to you in business school, that most people are smart enough to realize once they are working for pay, and what they do explain to overly educated kids in law school….the people who CONTROL productive enterprise as managers usually make lots more money on the racket than the socalled “owners”

                Control of business in the form of salaries, such like as always get paid in BK when the “owners” get nothing.

                See how that works?

                That “analysis” probably did not factor in how many salaries and commissions etc Trump got along the way via his control.

                The valuation of stocks versus real estate is another problem. These are apples and oranges. Major methodology problems in that bogus analysis

                Fake news, basically

      2. Anon – most NATO member nations have failed to carry their weight for many years. America pays the freight and gets little gratitude or respect in return.

        Both NATO and the UN are due for an overhaul. When human rights abusing countries sit on a human rights council in the latter, it’s lost all credibility.

      1. Kurtz,

        It isn’t hard to see how I just wasted 2+ hours laughing my azz off at this new memeworld.com site by Carpe .

        And of course FB, etc., went to banning the site shortly afterwards because they can’t afford the little people exposing them as the idiots they are.

        BTW: That one main Google whistle blower is back at Austin Tx infowars shows today & tomorrow. Showing how & why they’re, Google, etc., banning everyone but American hating trash.

        I think we can tell those would be gate keepers are about finished by watching how panicked they are.

  19. TRUMP’S INTEREST IN GREENLAND..

    IS BACKDOOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..

    OF GLOBAL WARMING

    As Global Warming plays out, Greenland is sure to become increasingly valuable real estate. It might even become ‘green’. Trump seems to understand this. So why cant Republicans just acknowledge Climate Change? Answer: “The Koch Bros won’t let them”.

    1. you either read my comment or were on the same wavelength,. this is a good strategic location if there is a warming spell. it may again look GREEN like it did when Erik the Red discovered it long ago

      Kroch bros are your favorite bogeymen i guess,. like tovararish anon1 huh?

      1. Lloyd, shall we deny what everyone can see to uphold conservative talking points?

        2. What everyone can see is that for as long as planet Earth has had oceans and an atmosphere it has had a chaotic climate in a state of continual change.

          Government taxing the air, or meat, or plastic straws, or whatever else you greedy totalitarians dream up to get your grubby hands on people’s money will never stop the climate from changing. That’s the reality you deny.

  20. Former foreign minister Kristian Jensen put it simply in describing the “total chaos” caused by Trump’s statements: “It has gone from a great opportunity for enhanced dialogue between allies to a diplomatic crisis.”

    The only chaos is in the disordered psyches of the cookie-pushers in the Danish foreign ministry. C’mon. You ought to know better than that.

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