Russia issues stunning response to Trump's Greenland threats - Brian Tyler Cohen [View all]

[TexasTowelie]

BTC: As Trump continues to saber rattle and threatens the destruction of NATO, it would be impossible to ignore Russia's role in all of this. The BBC this morning revealed what Russia's response to the situation has been, and it should frighten anyone who recognizes what a liability Trump has become.

(cut to video)
BBC Reporter: This is the Russian government paper {Rossiyskaya Gazeta}. Quite an extraordinary article on Greenland. I'm going to quote it at length because I think it tells us a lot about Moscow's position on this. Note the absence of criticism of Donald Trump for wanting Greenland. In fact, it's quite the opposite. This piece borders on praise. Listen to the first part.

If Trump achieves the annexation of Greenland by July the 4th, 2026, when America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, he will undoubtedly become one of the historical figures to assert the greatness of the United States. With Greenland, the United States will become the second largest country in the world after Russia, surpassing Canada in area.

For Americans, that outcome will be on a par with such planetary events as the abolition of slavery by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 or the territorial conquests of the Napoleonic Wars. Everyone will quickly forget the current diplomatic contacts with the Danes on the future of Greenland as something momentary. and in fact useless. But if thanks to Trump, Greenland becomes part of America, this will be forever. For sure, the American people will not forget such an achievement.

But standing in the way of the US president's historic breakthrough is the stubbornness of Copenhagen and the mock solidarity with it of a number of intransigent European capitals, including the so-called friends of America--Britain, and France. Europe does not need the American greatness that Trump is promoting. Brussels is counting on “drowning” the US president in the midterm congressional elections, on not letting him conclude the greatest deal of his life. The leaders of the Old World who hate Trump are doing everything to get him bogged down in endless negotiations on Greenland.

It is dangerous for the American president to back down over Greenland. This would instantly weaken the position of the Republican party in upcoming congressional elections and most likely result in the White House's opponents from the Democratic Party getting majority on Capitol Hill with all the ensuing consequences for Trump. Whereas a rapid annexation of Greenland before the midterm elections can change this political trend. If Trump achieves his goal, then the island with a population of 57,000 people will become the largest territorial acquisition by the United States in its history. In this case, the current American leader will have done what his predecessors in 1867 and 1946 failed to do.

(cut to studio)
BTC: So that we're clear, Russia is goading Trump into annexing Greenland with the most transparent form of manipulation humanly possible. They're appealing to his ego the way you would convince a 9-year-old to do what you want them to do. I mean, the appeals to Trump's ego by comparing annexation to Greenland as the abolition of slavery, the fear-mongering about Europe trying to sink Trump and the Republicans in midterms, and even the suggestion of collusion between Europe and the Democrats to hurt Donald Trump. It touches on everything Trump responds to. His desperation to pay his legacy, his thirst for greatness, his disdain for the left. Russia knows exactly exactly how to game this guy.

Now, in reality, think for a moment about why they're doing this. Do you really think that Russia is just extolling the virtues of Donald J. Trump with no ulterior motive? Obviously not. They are looking out for themselves and they're looking to their useful idiot to do it. For decades, Russia has wanted to destroy NATO. It is what stands in their way of their territorial ambitions. And in fact, under Biden, NATO grew to its strongest point ever with Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.

But now with Trump, they have the opportunity to do what they've always wanted to do by appealing to this moron's vanity, and that is to destroy NATO. And to do it, by the way, without even firing a shot. If Trump goes ahead with the annexation of Greenland, that is effectively a death nail for NATO. You cannot have an alliance where its own members start invading and annexing each other. Which means there's no longer an impediment to Russia restoring its formerly expansive empire as Putin's been trying to do for decades.

And meanwhile, by the way, it's not just Russia who benefits from this. China is the biggest winner of all because as we push all of our allies away, guess who steps in to fill the void? I mean, just days ago, as the direct result of Trump's ongoing feud with Canada, now guess what they did? They opened up their market to Chinese EVs.

(cut to video)
Prime Minister Carney: China's strengths, for example, in electric vehicles are formidable. They're undeniable. These are the most affordable and energy efficient and innovative vehicles in the world. And for Canada to build our own competitive EV sector, we need to learn from, partner with, and access and build supply chains with China. To help deliver on the full potential of these partnerships and to bring down costs for Canadians, we're going to start by allowing up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market at the most favored nation tariff rate, which is 6.1%.

(cut to studio)
BTC: That means it gets more difficult for American car manufacturers to compete with China. And that's just one item in one market in one country. Do you really think threatening to invade a European ally is going to go unresponded to by the rest of Europe? The rest of the countries that have spending power.

Our number one trading partner is the EU. 19% of all American trade is from the European Union. Do you think they have no financial leverage here? They do. And do not be surprised if and when they use it. If you were engineering a way for Russia and China to become ascendant, it would quite literally be no different from what Trump is doing right now.

But the scary part of all of this is how easy it is to manipulate this guy. I mean, honestly, the fawning media coverage, the appeals to greatness, the fear-mongering about Democrats. If that's all it takes to exploit the president of the United States, then do you really think this guy is scoring deals that benefit our country in private? Do you really think that he's able to outmaneuver people like Xi and Putin who are master tacticians? When I say that they have scored a massive win with a useful idiot, this is what I mean.

And frankly, it looks like Putin and Xi are getting their way because now the future of NATO is legitimately in peril. The Western world order is crumbling and the East is frothing at the mouth for their chance to ascend. And guess what the first orders of business are going to be? Russia will take over Ukraine and then move west as they've been want to do. And China will take over Taiwan. And if they take over that country, that means that they consolidate basically the entire global semiconductor chip industry. And they can limit, by the way, what the United States has access to, which means that our GDP is suddenly in the hands of our main adversary.

They also take full control of critical sea and air routes in the Indo-Pacific, effectively rendering the US impotent militarily in that part of the world and solidifying China's ascent to the controlling force there. But the problem is that's all an issue for tomorrow. And Trump can only think of today. Trump only wants to see his legacy by expanding the map. He wants to feel like Napoleon. He doesn't view himself as the mere president of the United States. He views himself as the king of the world and his actions betray exactly that.

So, I've said this before and I'll say it again. If Trump gets his way, the whole world becomes less safe, including and especially the United States. So, I say this from a global perspective, a democratic perspective, and a selfishly American perspective. Europe and our other allies need to step up and stop Trump's efforts. It is existential for the US and for small D democracy around the globe that he not succeed in blowing up the global world order.

Our allies are the only thing preventing ascendant autocracies like China and Russia from gaining power and ushering in this new era of imperialism 2.0. So Europe needs to fight as if its survival depends on it. And importantly, they need to discard the old rule book and recognize who it is they're contending with here. Trump doesn't respond to strongly worded letters. You will not move him with appeals to the rule of law. He is lawless. The only way to beat a bully is with strength. The EU is our biggest trading partner. Use the financial tools at your disposal to impose leverage.

The American people are already sensitive to high prices, and they register that discontent at the ballot box. We already saw that in 2024, which was what ushered in this aspiring autocrat and his feckless Republican sycophants into office in the first place. But if the economic pain is high, Americans will respond accordingly. Again, this is not the time to appease Trump. Not the time to coddle Trump. Not the time to capitulate to Trump. You can only defeat him. And our allies need to help the majority of Americans who want exactly that outcome. But it's going to require a unified, strong, and bold response against the United States government that has now aligned itself with the world's autocracies and dictatorships.