First, Trump hasn’t “taken” Venezuela. In fact, I have believed all along the oil grab was just a side show designed to distract from Epstein and seriously bad polls. It worked… kinda’. Trump has no interest whatever in Venezuela or it’s people. The thirty to fifty million barrels of oil he’s demanding is just his typical bribe demand. The whole thing was an ego boosting show designed to take the heat off the actual threat to his completing his term: the files.
Lots of countries have oil and several have nationalized property belonging to American companies. This is simply stealing something worth billions because you can. It lets some local El Presidente thump his chest at the gringos for a few weeks. But the US has never invaded a country for stealing and Trump will not this time. His base will not tolerate it. It’s just part of the show.
It was a ham-handed effort to get the average citizen to rally around the flag. It distracts from real issues and, he hopes, could bump some seriously gawd awful poll numbers. He is polling in the thirties and continues to sink. In fact, once you break out specific categories, Trump’s numbers are sometimes in the low twenties. So yeah… he needs something BIG to put out the fires.
Could Greenland be that something big? I think not; high price, low pay-off. Venezuela did very little for him. Sure, Fox makes predictable noises but many hard-core MEGAs are asking how is this putting America first. There’s a possibility Trump may do something to Greenland if the walls close in and he becomes desperate for something big but he’s not there yet. Expect lots of noise and a cash offer. Despite the verbal barrage, his hands are tied.
Would you like to know what something big is? As I write this, ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) murdered a woman in Minneapolis last night, my time. As always, ICE Barbie (DHS Secretary Kristi Noem) is lying, saying officers acted in self-defense. There are videos that show otherwise. Oops… not the kind of BIG Trump had in mind. Huge fires start with a single spark and this may be that spark. In the linked video, above, the NY Times shows the driver wasn’t trying to run-over the agent. The agent fires, point blank, through the driver’s open window, right in her face. ICE then prevents the Ambulance from coming and stops a passing physician from trying to save the woman. Mayor Jacob Frey calls the administration’s self-defense explanation “bullshit”.
Various local and state officials are really angry. Like dropping the F bomb when talking about this administration angry. Area schools are closed for the rest of the week. Governor Tim Walz is calling up the National Guard to protect citizens from ICE. I still think Trump will make it until the mid-term elections but there’s little chance he will finish his four years without a civil war. To quote CNN: “The killing was the latest sickening example of violence arising from politics that is draining America’s morale and marks a savage chapter in modern history.”
To the credit of the people of Minneapolis, they have remained overwhelmingly peaceful. This deprives Trump of the ability to declare Martial Law, which is called the Insurrection Act in the US. I have said repeatedly in these pages, America will not survive four years of Trump, at least not in its current state. There’s a possibility shit’s about to get real and I don’t think the rest of the world is ready. Greenland? That’s not even a side show. Are you listening?
Venezuela first, Greenland next?
I understand that liberal press is going mad on Trump’s plans about Greenland. I honestly don’t think he is going to invade it.
Greenland for him is just a business case. He, I think, is not plotting something rough and rude. The end product would be something like a free association with the United States. Technically, Denmark will still be the owner of the island. But America will have all the security questions fixed.
Why US want it? I think, China and Russia are the reasons.
Do I like it? Absolutely not! This deal smells bad. What is the difference between Russia and America then regarding the Ukraine case?
Today, I have seen the news that the US would offer $100,000 to each Greenland resident to strike the deal.
The question is: will the islanders sell their island?
Venezuela first, Greenland next? — A British reflection
The last couple of weeks have felt like a very unhealthy Cold War reboot. It follows the U.S.A.’s invasion into Venezuela, capture of the president, heralding firm control over the country’s oil apparatus, then announcing that Greenland will be the next prize. Sadly, not a poor joke, or just rhetoric.
In London, the government publicly outlined Britain’s support as part of wider trans-Atlantic security cooperation against Russian and Iranian “shadow fleets,” but privately, and certainly among the population, there is genuine unease about the sweeping unilateralism on display.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has mumbled the usual waffle about supporting defence cooperation with the U.S.A., but has limply suggested that any violation of allied territory, or the notion that a great power can simply decide another people’s fate, is just “not cricket”.
Britain should be extremely concerned on two counts. What has just occurred over the Atlantic recalls an age of empires, not alliances. Respect for territorial integrity is a cornerstone of post-war order that the UK helped build.
Secondly, any move by the Trump administration to seize a NATO ally’s territory would risk unraveling the alliance itself. What do you think that would mean for collective defence, not just in the Arctic, but for the whole of Europe?
For many ordinary Britons the idea of “Venezuela then Greenland” feels almost surreal. It reflects real tensions over how America defines its own interests, and how allies like Britain balance support for a longstanding partner with defending shared principles.
Yes, I’m sure we will continue to work with Washington where interests align, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that Europe will also have to assert its own voice more firmly if the trans-Atlantic relationship is to survive these stormy waters.
I’m not sure Britain, and indeed the rest of Europe, is up to the task……..