Trump the Mad King

If I were to tell you that cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump is attempting to take over Greenland because he failed to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, you would think that I am a loony conspiracy theorist. To be clear, not only have I not said such a thing, but I’ve never even thought it. But someone else has said it. That person is Trump himself. Trump made this claim in a letter to Jonas Gahr Støre, the Prime Minister of Norway. What more evidence is needed that Trump has become nothing more than a mad king and is completely unfit for office?

Here is the full text of Trump's letter:

Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel 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. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a "right of ownership" anyway? 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. Thank you! President DJT

Not only did Trump actually send this bit of lunacy to another world leader, he had his National Security Council staff send it to multiple European ambassadors in Washington with a request that they forward it to their head of government or state. For the record, the Acting National Security Advisor — who heads the NSC — is Marco Rubio. Anyone who thought that Rubio might be the adult in the room of the Trump administration has had ample opportunity to be disabused of that idea.

Trump's letter was apparently triggered by a request sent a short time earlier by Støre on behalf of himself and Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. The text of that letter is as follows:

Dear Mr President, dear Donald - on the contact across the Atlantic - on Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine - and your tariff announcement yesterday. You know our position on these issues. But we believe we all should work to take this down and de-escalate - so much is happening around us where we need to stand together. We are proposing a call with you later today - with both of us or separately - give us a hint of what you prefer! Best - Alex and Jonas

Apparently, Trump was not interested in de-escalating. Støre then issued a statement to a Norwegian newspaper confirming that he had received the message from Trump and reiterating Norway's position on Greenland remains unchanged and that Norway fully supports Denmark in the matter. Støre went on to say that "As for the Nobel Peace Prize, I have on several occasions clearly explained to Trump what is well known: it is an independent Nobel Committee—not the Norwegian government—that awards the prize."

Let's consider Trump's letter. Trump admits, quite clearly, that he is terribly upset that he was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Because Trump rules as a dictator in America — for instance, setting tariff rates by "truths" on his Truth Social social media network, telling credit card companies how much they can charge, and even ordering television programming for TV networks — he can't comprehend that Støre could not interfere with the Nobel Committee's selections. In Trump's mind, it's not that Støre couldn't, but rather that he wouldn't. As a result, Trump is holding Støre and, by extension, Norway responsible for Trump not receiving the prize.

When Trump suggests that "Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China," he ignores the fact that Denmark is a member of NATO, just as is the United States. If Greenland were endangered by either Russia or China, the United States would be bound by treaty to come to Denmark's assistance. The U.S. already has the right to establish military installations in Greenland. The only way that Trump's statement could be true is if NATO didn't exist. This may well be another of Trump's goals (and would certainly be the result of any U.S. aggressions against Greenland).

Trump then questioned Denmark's right of ownership of Greenland, attributing it to a boat landing there "hundreds of years ago" and saying that "we had boats landing there, also." Trump doesn't have a particularly strong grasp of history. Greenland was settled by the Norse, who came from today's Denmark and Norway, well before the United States existed. Norse settlements have been dated from before the year 1,000.

Fundamentally, Trump's message is insane. Here is the ruler of the most powerful nation in the world, and he is acting belligerently because his feelings were hurt that he didn't get a prize. We would not accept this from a 5-year-old; why do we accept it from our president?

Probably the most important reason is the cowardice of our elites. The biggest hurdle in confronting Trump is an almost universal learned helplessness among elites of all sorts. Whether they be elected officials, the heads of major law firms, corporate leaders, the mainstream media, or university presidents, anyone with a bit of power seems to believe that confronting Trump is a fool’s errand. Therefore, they don’t even attempt to do it. They are afraid of a mean "truth" or some other attack by Trump. In some cases, they are afraid to risk having the businesses damaged by vengeful laws or regulations. The elites have developed an instinctual habit of complying in advance. This is almost akin to an abused spouse or child. They don't want to make Trump mad and cause him to hit them again.

Meanwhile, in the streets of Minneapolis, everyday folks with no power whatsoever are demonstrating how unity and determination can successfully take on Trump’s praetorian guard. Our elites have let us down, and it is time for them to take a lesson from the people of Minneapolis.

There is no surprise about why Republicans are not confronting Trump. Almost every Republican politician who has challenged him has soon found themselves out of a job. But what about the Democrats? Aren't they supposed to be the opposition party? Democratic politicians routinely warn about how terrible Trump is, but then turn around and vote to confirm his nominees or in favor of his legislation. Either they have not believed their own warnings or they have been incompetent in confronting the threat. Acknowledging the real danger that Trump presents would require them to act to confront him. That creates dangers to Democrats. If they are spending time on impeachment resolutions or trying to stymie Trump, they can’t help pass other legislation. For instance, House Democrats recently passed a three-year extension of the health insurance credits. They could not have done that without Republican help. Would that assistance have materialized if they were in the midst of an impeachment process? To be sure, it would be an impeachment process that is doomed to fail.

The truth is that the legislative victories that Democrats are convinced that they can win if they behave themselves don't appear to amount to much either. While the insurance subsidies passed the House, there is no indication that they will pass the Senate, and if they did, Trump could very well veto them. These are Pyrrhic victories. Democrats have convinced themselves that they can rearrange the chairs on the deck of the Titanic while a Trump-shaped iceberg is about to sink our country. It is time for them to focus on the bigger picture.

The bottom line is that we are ruled by a mad king. It is far past time for those in power to do something about it. Otherwise, there is no real reason for them to remain in power. Trump is doing tremendous damage to our country. He seems set on destroying the NATO alliance. He is breaking our long-cherished relationship with Europe. He is giving Russia and China a green light to dominate their neighbors. If nothing else, he is an embarrassment to our country. Can any American travel abroad these days and not feel shame that we have a president who acts like a child? Isn't this humiliating for all of us?

Trump wants to take over Greenland because he didn't receive the Nobel Prize. This is what he himself has written. The last thing that needs to happen is for Republicans to rally around him as if this is anything other than insanity, or for Democrats to refuse to address it because they want to focus on affordability, or for the mainstream media to launder his madness into a semblance of normality. Now is the time to recognize that Trump is not fit for the job and to confront him at every opportunity.