'Do Not Back Down': Fukuyama Warns Europe Trump Will Not Stop at Greenland [View all]
Source: MEDIAite
Jan 19th, 2026, 5:38 pm
Renowned political scientist Francis Fukuyama reacted to President Donald Trump’s latest moves to acquire Greenland and urged Europe to “not back down” to Trump, arguing that he “really needs to be stopped.”
“Over the weekend, Donald Trump announced that he would be imposing a 10 percent tariff on February 1 on eight European countries that had agreed to send forces to Greenland, and that tariffs would be increased to 25 percent by June 1 if they did not agree to support the sale of the island to the United States. Over the past couple of months, there has been a debate over whether Trump was serious about claiming Greenland for himself or just trolling the Europeans. It appears that he is indeed deadly serious,” began Fukuyama, whose book The End of History and the Last Man is considered one of the foundational texts of modern international relations. He continued in a YouTube clip published Sunday:
I want to say this straight out: as an American, I have one thing to say to my many European friends—do not back down in this confrontation. Up to now, both the EU and the major European powers have sought to appease Trump by offering him concessions, flattery, personal gifts, and other forms of tribute. This strategy has not worked and should be abandoned immediately. Donald Trump is fundamentally a bully who wants to dominate everyone around him.
Trying to placate him with concessions is a fool’s errand. He despises weakness and those who display it.
Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/do-not-back-down-fukuyama-warns-europe-trump-will-not-stop-at-greenland/
Don't back down, Europe: youtu.be/SS5Ep3LTqnE
— Francis Fukuyama (@frankfukuyama.bsky.social) 2026-01-19T01:40:05.029Z
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Donald Trump's threats to use tariffs to compel Europe to support US acquisition of Greenland must be strongly resisted. Appeasement of Trump demonstrably d...
8:39 PM · Jan 18, 2026
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