And this is why Trump does this. Because Denmark’s PM is apparently a cuck.
Why? Why would you do this? You might as well sign Greenland over to Trump now, because as far as Trump is concerned, that territory is his. You’ve given him the inch, and now he’s demanding the yard.
This is why Trump continues to do this. Because these countries continue to give him concessions to appease him, then go back and do it again and again and wonder why he just keeps coming back for more.
Trump pulled this with Canada and got them to commit $1.3 billion to a “border crisis” that doesn’t exist. Then when that wasn’t good for him, he threatened tariffs again. And he got Canada to offer concessions again. What’s going to happen next month when Trump decides that this “joint strike force” isn’t being implemented fast enough for his liking? Or he just decides he wants more from Canada next month because they’ve already blinked twice? They’re already admitting that this is an intentional tactic they’re using because “we are more important to your economy than you are to ours” and they intend to use that leverage to start playing hardball.
Mexico did the same thing. Threatens tariffs, gets concessions. Reneges on that, and gets them to commit 10,000 more troops to their border.
And now Greenland. “Greenland. Is. Not. For. Sale.” Five words, you fucking cuck. You had one job. Stick to those 5 words. But nope. You went from that to “Well, ackshually, Greenland might…”. And that’s all the wiggle room Trump needed. That’s all he needed for him to decide that he “deserved” Greenland and was going to take it by force if he had to. And then Trump started insulting Denmark and calling them a weak ally. And how does your fucking cuck of a PM respond?
They give concessions. They allow Trump to “expand US presence” in Greenland. Which as far as Trump is concerned means that the island is his. And he’s going to act accordingly. Oh, and they’ve decided to ban foreign political donations out of fear of retaliation by Trump. Good to know that Trump now gets to dictate Denmark’s political policies. Is he planning to sign the bill with his pen in one hand and Trump’s dick in the other? If Trump posts another mean tweet about Denmark, is he going to show how strong he is by signing the entire country over to Trump?
Remember, we are now threatening to do to Denmark what Russia just did to Ukraine. We’ve decided we want the land and are telling Denmark that they can either roll over and play dead or we’re just gonna roll in and take it. And we’re doing the same thing to Panama. What makes the US any different from Putin at this point?
This is why Trump is doing this. Because apparently our world leaders are a bunch of cucks who are too afraid to stand up to a man who eats crayons for breakfast. World leaders need to learn, and to learn quickly, that you cannot give Trump even the most symbolic, meaningless concession or he will just keep coming back for more and more and more. Give the man a millimeter and the man will take a light year.
Sorry but your take is entirely obtuse and ridiculous. Also, you used the word that just makes me want to dismiss everything after it, but I digress.
This is a country that functions well largely due to well crafted and POLITE diplomacy. They very well understand the “what” of the threat here, but also the nature of “who” is making it.
If anyone is a “cuck”, it’s Trump hands down. Proven time and time again. He throws tantrums like a child, and backs down IMMEDIATELY because that’s all he knows how to do. He’s a doddering old man with dementia, and an enclave of Wormtongue’s pulling the actual strings. Look at what happened with these bullshit tarrifs. Look back in history and see how many times this dipshit embarrasses himself with threats that have NEVER come to fruition.
Canada and Mexico literally replied to Trump as if what they are doing is new in response to his threats. It is not. It literally what they agreed to 6 months ago with Biden. They know all they have to do is ACT like Trump made a big boy move, and keep doing the same thing.
While all of this bullshitting is happening, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, UK, and literally everyone else who Trump keeps threatening are on the phone with each other like High School kids talking about a response if Trump tries something. You now have a bunch of formerly friendly allies against the US n a new coalition.
Trump won’t do shit because he has no concept of how. This is proven. He makes threats he never follows through on to seem tough, and then does nothing. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS.
So while he’s out here chomping at the bit for this and that, we have a newly aligned group of nations taking their time to figure out what they want to do. That’s it. They’ll win this, and I root for them. Trump won’t engage the military, he’ll kick and scream and wine and then blame somebody else for the fallout. That’s literally all he knows how to do.
As far as his attacks on the US, that’s because he is an abuser and an opportunist. Abusers hit the most vulnerable people available, and have no recourse. Opportunists get in and out for an affect before they are found out, like cowards. Rapists are opportunists, for example.
This is a country that functions well largely due to well crafted and POLITE diplomacy. They very well understand the “what” of the threat here, but also the nature of “who” is making it.
And what has “POLITE” diplomacy gotten them? They’re expanding US military presence on the island and are making political policy based on Trump’s demands. How is this anything other than giving Trump exactly what he wants?
If anyone is a “cuck”, it’s Trump hands down. Proven time and time again. He throws tantrums like a child, and backs down IMMEDIATELY because that’s all he knows how to do. He’s a doddering old man with dementia, and an enclave of Wormtongue’s pulling the actual strings. Look at what happened with these bullshit tarrifs. Look back in history and see how many times this dipshit embarrasses himself with threats that have NEVER come to fruition.
Oh, I agree. Trump is a complete cuck. You will never, ever hear me argue otherwise. But that doesn’t mean that Denmark’s PM isn’t also one. I mean we are literally talking about Trump actively insulting Denmark as a country, calling them weak, and saying that they can either sign over Greenland or he’s going to take it by force. And this is how he responds? By basically giving them more territory on the island and enacting pro-Trump political policies? How is that anything other than being a geopolitical cuck?
Canada and Mexico literally replied to Trump as if what they are doing is new in response to his threats. It is not. It literally what they agreed to 6 months ago with Biden. They know all they have to do is ACT like Trump made a big boy move, and keep doing the same thing.
Until Trump starts demanding more than symbolic gestures. Again, check out my links. They openly admit that they are intentionally playing hardball because they can and intend to use their perceived economic strength to leverage more concessions out of Canada. I’ll ask again, what if Trump decides that he wants to make a play for British Columbia the same way he’s making a play for Denmark, and then suddenly decides that he “deserves” it and will take it by force if he has to?
While all of this bullshitting is happening, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, UK, and literally everyone else who Trump keeps threatening are on the phone with each other like High School kids talking about a response if Trump tries something.
Then they need to start actually speaking up because right now, Trump appears to be winning. Symbolic or otherwise, doesn’t matter.
Trump won’t do shit because he has no concept of how. This is proven. He makes threats he never follows through on to seem tough, and then does nothing. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS.
Then they need to start calling him out on it instead of playing the appeasement game.
So while he’s out here chomping at the bit for this and that, we have a newly aligned group of nations taking their time to figure out what they want to do. That’s it. They’ll win this, and I root for them. Trump won’t engage the military, he’ll kick and scream and wine and then blame somebody else for the fallout. That’s literally all he knows how to do.
This is probably correct in the long term. But if this is the plan, they’re doing a pretty poor job so far.
As far as his attacks on the US, that’s because he is an abuser and an opportunist. Abusers hit the most vulnerable people available, and have no recourse. Opportunists get in and out for an affect before they are found out, like cowards. Rapists are opportunists, for example.
Again, you’re not telling me things I don’t already know here. I am in no way defending Trump or his actions, but at the same time these countries need to start playing a lot more hardball because all Trump is doing is using the appeasement that they’re giving him to bolster his ego and build support for more direct action. Remember, appeasement got us from “Greenland is not for sale” to Trump believing that the US has some kind of “right” to it. And support for that idea among the rubes of his base is growing.
I’m not dogging you here, but you’re basically succumbing to “forceful language needs a forceful reaction”. Simply not true.
Sorry, but I completely disagree. We are in this situation in the first place because these countries did not give a forceful response. I’m not saying they need to threaten nukes every time Trump sends out a mean tweet, but for the love of fuck I don’t think sticking to a forceful “Greenland is not for sale” is too much to ask. Trump is pulling more and more shit with more and more countries (Canada, Mexico, Panama, Denmark) because they fucking allow him to.
“Greenland is not for sale under any circumstances, and we will not dignify such a ridiculous idea with any further response.” That’s it. No need to declare WWIII or something. That’s all they needed to stick to and this whole thing would still be considered the demented ramblings of an idiot. But instead of a forceful response, they went the “well, ackshully” route and now we have not only this demented idiot but a growing number of supporters believing that the US suddenly “deserves” Greenland.
At a geopolitical level? Forceful language absolutely needs a forceful response. 100% of the time. This situation is what happens when you don’t give one.
No, these countries are actually intelligent, and are doing more than just shouting back at the absolutely mindless void that is the Trump administration. Stalling for time, figuring out an actual response, and delivering alternatives is a thoughtful process. Yelling back at Trump is just inviting more bullshit which they don’t want to deal with.
Fact of the matter is that the US Military will refuse to start WW3 and alienate the few allies it has left. It’s sandwiched between Canada and Mexico, it’s closest allies which Trump wants to alienate hold the Atlantic cross, and nobody in the Pacific gap will work productively with him to allow the grab of Greenland. If he even starts a military incursion, the US is fucked. He doesn’t know this, but they do.
As Trudeau said “Good luck figuring out who provides US with their most needed materials”.
Stalling for time, figuring out an actual response, and delivering alternatives is a thoughtful process.
Wait a minute. Stalling for time, figuring out an actual response, and delivering alternatives?
Trump is literally threatening to take Greenland by force, and Denmark responds by allowing them to expand the military presence the US already has there? How ridiculously stupid is that? That would be like Zelinsky responding to Russia’s threat of invasion by allowing Putin to park the tanks in Kyiv.
And they are literally enacting pro-Trump policies. I don’t care what the subject matter is, who the fuck allows a foreign country to literally demand and dictate the foreign policy of another?
Canada and Mexico dangling shiny objects to appease trump is a tactic I completely disagree with and I think will backfire in the not-too-distant future, but I can at least see the merit there even if I disagree with it. But what Greenland is doing isn’t some kind of stalling tactic. It’s literally bending the knee. How is that kind of strategy in any way beneficial to Denmark?
You’re confusing all kinds of different things here. The original angle was Greenland. They are stalling to find out who will respond if the US tries an incursion. It’s that simple. It shuts Trump up, and they know he won’t do anything without starting a war.
The US already has a large base in Greenland and if the US actually sent in marines to conquer Greenland there’s fuck all Greenland could do about it with such short notice. This measure may just make the dumb orange man happy and it gives Denmark time to assemble an actual multilateral response (France is already on board but that’s not enough).
I don’t know why you’d consider getting another country to spend a lot of money in your country to be bending the knee. These US soldiers will have to follow the local laws (or cause a massive disruption) just like those already there and the extended military presence won’t significantly impact the ability for Greenland to resist.
Trump lost the tariff exchange. Canada said “We’ll appoint a border czar sure”, Mexico got a lot of border funding they wanted anyways… and Greenland is in a pretty impossible situation but managed to stall any disaster.
Canada and Mexico haven’t really given Trump anything. These “concessions” are pretty much all things already negotiated during the Biden administration Trump just needed a win so they “gave” him one because he couldn’t actually go through with the tarrifs without crashing the stock market which would’ve pissed off a lot of his friends
That is really completely irrelevant. It’s a win to his voters (and likely to him), and worse it legitimises the negotiation tactic. If Trump threatens Greenland with a potential military invasion, the only correct negotiation tactic is to expel US soldiers from Greenland/Denmark. Why the heck would Greenland host US military when this might be an invasion force?
And this is my point. Symbolic or not, giving Trump “wins” like this only emboldens him to demand more.
Remember, he threatened tariffs the first time, and they “gave” him this. Symbolic or otherwise, doesn’t matter. He reneged anyway and now got them to commit to some (admittedly, vague and probably meaningless) “joint strike force” within 30 days. What happens 30 days from now when Trump once again decides that’s not good enough? More meaningless fluff? And do you plan on doing this every month for the next four years to continue to appease him? Especially when they admit that they’re using it as leverage to start playing hardball. What happens when their next demand isn’t a symbolic gesture? What happens when Trump decides that Canada should just give up British Columbia so the US can have a direct connection between the continental states and Alaska?
Canada shouldn’t give half a flying shit about the US economy. They needed to stick to their guns and demand that the US honor already existing trade deals, and Canada will make no further concessions, symbolic or otherwise. All they are doing with appeasement is just telling Trump that he can keep coming back again and again and Canada will blink every time. And eventually, symbolic gestures aren’t going to be good enough.
Again, look at Denmark. They tried the appeasement route too and now we’re basically in a situation where Trump is threatening to do to Greenland what Russia just did to Ukraine. Because now Trump believes that Greenland is his by manifest destiny or something. This is where appeasement gets you.
There is no possible world where Canada fights a trade war with the US and has a complete and total victory where Trump admits utter defeat. That’s just fantasy. In international political disputes people are always given the chance to save face – that’s just how shit works. The “what about a month from now” argument would also always be true. Even if he announced a permanent end to tariffs he could still announce tariffs tomorrow.
Trump stared down Canada and Mexico and lost. He caved. It was obvious that he was caving when the White House started softening their messaging midday and saying that everything was just a big misunderstanding. The only concession he got was the ability to save face. Mexico re-announced an already in-place commitment. Canada announced some symbolic nonsense. That $1.3B in your original comment was announced more than a month before Trump took office.
He already has Fox News. We don’t need to help polish his losses into victories too.
There is no possible world where Canada fights a trade war with the US and has a complete and total victory where Trump admits utter defeat. That’s just fantasy. In international political disputes people are always given the chance to save face – that’s just how shit works.
You are essentially saying that Canada knows that it can’t win a trade war if push comes to shove. What that means is that whenever this situation happens, Canada is going to have to give up something, even if it’s a symbolic gesture, every time Trump pulls this stunt.
Trump already knows this. Again, take a look at the links. They are openly saying that they know the US has the upper hand and intends to use that to extract further concessions from Canada. The only question then becomes how much is Canada willing to appease Trump before they say “Enough.”? And what happens when (not if. When) Trump no longer settles for symbolic, face-saving gestures?
The “what about a month from now” argument would also always be true. Even if he announced a permanent end to tariffs he could still announce tariffs tomorrow.
Well this is always the case everywhere. But 99.9999999% of the time, you don’t have to worry about the US reneging on its end of the deal on a whim. Every country knows that the other country could announce tariffs any time. But they typically have reasonable assurances that they won’t. Trump offers no such assurances beyond “I have altered the deal. Pray I do not alter it further.”
Trump stared down Canada and Mexico and lost. He caved. It was obvious that he was caving when the White House started softening their messaging midday and saying that everything was just a big misunderstanding. The only concession he got was the ability to save face. Mexico re-announced an already in-place commitment. Canada announced some symbolic nonsense. That $1.3B in your original comment was announced more than a month before Trump took office.
But it was announced and formed based on Trump talking points after the 2024 election. Being negotiated under Biden at the tail end of his administration is basically semantics since the whole thing had Trump’s fingerprints all over it anyway. Remember, Trump was promising to enact these tariffs in November. The deal was finalized in December, largely to appease the incoming Trump administration in the first place and in hopes that this whole mess of bullshit could be avoided. Of course Trump decided it wasn’t good enough, and here we are.
Define “win a trade war.” If Trump’s definition is ‘Canada becomes non-viable as a country and agrees to become a cherished 51st state,’ then the US can’t win a trade war either. The US has a much larger economy and can inflict more damage on Canada, but the US still can’t “win” in the extreme way you’re talking about. ‘No one wins and everyone suffers’ is basically a defining characteristic of trade wars.
Just in the auto industry, half a million Canadians would lose their jobs. It’s easy to say that you shouldn’t “concede” symbolism when you’re not responsible for people’s well-being. Again, there was always going to be a face-saving gesture. Your expectation that there wouldn’t be is unrealistic. Agreeing to some border theatre nonsense (to help solve imaginary problems!) that Canada would’ve done anyway had someone just asked nicely is not a big deal. Canada didn’t need an economic threat to… join a task force that was a Canadian proposal to begin with. The only reason that didn’t already exist is because ~0% of the fentanyl getting into the US is coming from Canada.
Well this is always the case everywhere. But 99.9999999% of the time, you don’t have to worry about the US reneging on its end of the deal on a whim. Every country knows that the other country could announce tariffs any time. But they typically have reasonable assurances that they won’t. Trump offers no such assurances beyond “I have altered the deal. Pray I do not alter it further.”
And?
Canada and Mexico have no control over this.
“We’re entering into a trade war because you might in the future go back on not having a trade war and start a trade war!”
And you’re talking about this like there are no costs to Trump or the US for doing this. There are. He blinked because it was going to cost him. As much as he can say, ‘this is a necessary sacrifice,’ he’s not personally willing to sacrifice a goddamn thing. Those costs will increase over time and skyrocket as we approach midterms.
But it was announced and formed based on Trump talking points after the 2024 election.
Yes, they said “this fucking moron keeps talking about imaginary border shit. Let’s just pass this and hopefully it shuts him up.”
But that would’ve happened even if he didn’t sign the tariff order. You’re attributing it to Trump signing the tariff order and saying that Canada has just conceded it. That’s not true.
And this is why Trump does this. Because Denmark’s PM is apparently a cuck.
Why? Why would you do this? You might as well sign Greenland over to Trump now, because as far as Trump is concerned, that territory is his. You’ve given him the inch, and now he’s demanding the yard.
This is why Trump continues to do this. Because these countries continue to give him concessions to appease him, then go back and do it again and again and wonder why he just keeps coming back for more.
Trump pulled this with Canada and got them to commit $1.3 billion to a “border crisis” that doesn’t exist. Then when that wasn’t good for him, he threatened tariffs again. And he got Canada to offer concessions again. What’s going to happen next month when Trump decides that this “joint strike force” isn’t being implemented fast enough for his liking? Or he just decides he wants more from Canada next month because they’ve already blinked twice? They’re already admitting that this is an intentional tactic they’re using because “we are more important to your economy than you are to ours” and they intend to use that leverage to start playing hardball.
Mexico did the same thing. Threatens tariffs, gets concessions. Reneges on that, and gets them to commit 10,000 more troops to their border.
And now Greenland. “Greenland. Is. Not. For. Sale.” Five words, you fucking cuck. You had one job. Stick to those 5 words. But nope. You went from that to “Well, ackshually, Greenland might…”. And that’s all the wiggle room Trump needed. That’s all he needed for him to decide that he “deserved” Greenland and was going to take it by force if he had to. And then Trump started insulting Denmark and calling them a weak ally. And how does your fucking cuck of a PM respond?
They give concessions. They allow Trump to “expand US presence” in Greenland. Which as far as Trump is concerned means that the island is his. And he’s going to act accordingly. Oh, and they’ve decided to ban foreign political donations out of fear of retaliation by Trump. Good to know that Trump now gets to dictate Denmark’s political policies. Is he planning to sign the bill with his pen in one hand and Trump’s dick in the other? If Trump posts another mean tweet about Denmark, is he going to show how strong he is by signing the entire country over to Trump?
Remember, we are now threatening to do to Denmark what Russia just did to Ukraine. We’ve decided we want the land and are telling Denmark that they can either roll over and play dead or we’re just gonna roll in and take it. And we’re doing the same thing to Panama. What makes the US any different from Putin at this point?
This is why Trump is doing this. Because apparently our world leaders are a bunch of cucks who are too afraid to stand up to a man who eats crayons for breakfast. World leaders need to learn, and to learn quickly, that you cannot give Trump even the most symbolic, meaningless concession or he will just keep coming back for more and more and more. Give the man a millimeter and the man will take a light year.
Sorry but your take is entirely obtuse and ridiculous. Also, you used the word that just makes me want to dismiss everything after it, but I digress.
So while he’s out here chomping at the bit for this and that, we have a newly aligned group of nations taking their time to figure out what they want to do. That’s it. They’ll win this, and I root for them. Trump won’t engage the military, he’ll kick and scream and wine and then blame somebody else for the fallout. That’s literally all he knows how to do.
As far as his attacks on the US, that’s because he is an abuser and an opportunist. Abusers hit the most vulnerable people available, and have no recourse. Opportunists get in and out for an affect before they are found out, like cowards. Rapists are opportunists, for example.
And what has “POLITE” diplomacy gotten them? They’re expanding US military presence on the island and are making political policy based on Trump’s demands. How is this anything other than giving Trump exactly what he wants?
Oh, I agree. Trump is a complete cuck. You will never, ever hear me argue otherwise. But that doesn’t mean that Denmark’s PM isn’t also one. I mean we are literally talking about Trump actively insulting Denmark as a country, calling them weak, and saying that they can either sign over Greenland or he’s going to take it by force. And this is how he responds? By basically giving them more territory on the island and enacting pro-Trump political policies? How is that anything other than being a geopolitical cuck?
Until Trump starts demanding more than symbolic gestures. Again, check out my links. They openly admit that they are intentionally playing hardball because they can and intend to use their perceived economic strength to leverage more concessions out of Canada. I’ll ask again, what if Trump decides that he wants to make a play for British Columbia the same way he’s making a play for Denmark, and then suddenly decides that he “deserves” it and will take it by force if he has to?
Then they need to start actually speaking up because right now, Trump appears to be winning. Symbolic or otherwise, doesn’t matter.
Then they need to start calling him out on it instead of playing the appeasement game.
This is probably correct in the long term. But if this is the plan, they’re doing a pretty poor job so far.
Again, you’re not telling me things I don’t already know here. I am in no way defending Trump or his actions, but at the same time these countries need to start playing a lot more hardball because all Trump is doing is using the appeasement that they’re giving him to bolster his ego and build support for more direct action. Remember, appeasement got us from “Greenland is not for sale” to Trump believing that the US has some kind of “right” to it. And support for that idea among the rubes of his base is growing.
I’m not dogging you here, but you’re basically succumbing to “forceful language needs a forceful reaction”. Simply not true.
The US will get left behind while this lazy piece of shit just keeps talking and doing nothing. That’s it.
Sorry, but I completely disagree. We are in this situation in the first place because these countries did not give a forceful response. I’m not saying they need to threaten nukes every time Trump sends out a mean tweet, but for the love of fuck I don’t think sticking to a forceful “Greenland is not for sale” is too much to ask. Trump is pulling more and more shit with more and more countries (Canada, Mexico, Panama, Denmark) because they fucking allow him to.
“Greenland is not for sale under any circumstances, and we will not dignify such a ridiculous idea with any further response.” That’s it. No need to declare WWIII or something. That’s all they needed to stick to and this whole thing would still be considered the demented ramblings of an idiot. But instead of a forceful response, they went the “well, ackshully” route and now we have not only this demented idiot but a growing number of supporters believing that the US suddenly “deserves” Greenland.
At a geopolitical level? Forceful language absolutely needs a forceful response. 100% of the time. This situation is what happens when you don’t give one.
No, these countries are actually intelligent, and are doing more than just shouting back at the absolutely mindless void that is the Trump administration. Stalling for time, figuring out an actual response, and delivering alternatives is a thoughtful process. Yelling back at Trump is just inviting more bullshit which they don’t want to deal with.
Fact of the matter is that the US Military will refuse to start WW3 and alienate the few allies it has left. It’s sandwiched between Canada and Mexico, it’s closest allies which Trump wants to alienate hold the Atlantic cross, and nobody in the Pacific gap will work productively with him to allow the grab of Greenland. If he even starts a military incursion, the US is fucked. He doesn’t know this, but they do.
As Trudeau said “Good luck figuring out who provides US with their most needed materials”.
Chill the fuck out.
Wait a minute. Stalling for time, figuring out an actual response, and delivering alternatives?
Trump is literally threatening to take Greenland by force, and Denmark responds by allowing them to expand the military presence the US already has there? How ridiculously stupid is that? That would be like Zelinsky responding to Russia’s threat of invasion by allowing Putin to park the tanks in Kyiv.
And they are literally enacting pro-Trump policies. I don’t care what the subject matter is, who the fuck allows a foreign country to literally demand and dictate the foreign policy of another?
Canada and Mexico dangling shiny objects to appease trump is a tactic I completely disagree with and I think will backfire in the not-too-distant future, but I can at least see the merit there even if I disagree with it. But what Greenland is doing isn’t some kind of stalling tactic. It’s literally bending the knee. How is that kind of strategy in any way beneficial to Denmark?
You’re confusing all kinds of different things here. The original angle was Greenland. They are stalling to find out who will respond if the US tries an incursion. It’s that simple. It shuts Trump up, and they know he won’t do anything without starting a war.
The US already has a large base in Greenland and if the US actually sent in marines to conquer Greenland there’s fuck all Greenland could do about it with such short notice. This measure may just make the dumb orange man happy and it gives Denmark time to assemble an actual multilateral response (France is already on board but that’s not enough).
I don’t know why you’d consider getting another country to spend a lot of money in your country to be bending the knee. These US soldiers will have to follow the local laws (or cause a massive disruption) just like those already there and the extended military presence won’t significantly impact the ability for Greenland to resist.
Trump lost the tariff exchange. Canada said “We’ll appoint a border czar sure”, Mexico got a lot of border funding they wanted anyways… and Greenland is in a pretty impossible situation but managed to stall any disaster.
Canada and Mexico haven’t really given Trump anything. These “concessions” are pretty much all things already negotiated during the Biden administration Trump just needed a win so they “gave” him one because he couldn’t actually go through with the tarrifs without crashing the stock market which would’ve pissed off a lot of his friends
That is really completely irrelevant. It’s a win to his voters (and likely to him), and worse it legitimises the negotiation tactic. If Trump threatens Greenland with a potential military invasion, the only correct negotiation tactic is to expel US soldiers from Greenland/Denmark. Why the heck would Greenland host US military when this might be an invasion force?
And this is my point. Symbolic or not, giving Trump “wins” like this only emboldens him to demand more.
Remember, he threatened tariffs the first time, and they “gave” him this. Symbolic or otherwise, doesn’t matter. He reneged anyway and now got them to commit to some (admittedly, vague and probably meaningless) “joint strike force” within 30 days. What happens 30 days from now when Trump once again decides that’s not good enough? More meaningless fluff? And do you plan on doing this every month for the next four years to continue to appease him? Especially when they admit that they’re using it as leverage to start playing hardball. What happens when their next demand isn’t a symbolic gesture? What happens when Trump decides that Canada should just give up British Columbia so the US can have a direct connection between the continental states and Alaska?
Canada shouldn’t give half a flying shit about the US economy. They needed to stick to their guns and demand that the US honor already existing trade deals, and Canada will make no further concessions, symbolic or otherwise. All they are doing with appeasement is just telling Trump that he can keep coming back again and again and Canada will blink every time. And eventually, symbolic gestures aren’t going to be good enough.
Again, look at Denmark. They tried the appeasement route too and now we’re basically in a situation where Trump is threatening to do to Greenland what Russia just did to Ukraine. Because now Trump believes that Greenland is his by manifest destiny or something. This is where appeasement gets you.
There is no possible world where Canada fights a trade war with the US and has a complete and total victory where Trump admits utter defeat. That’s just fantasy. In international political disputes people are always given the chance to save face – that’s just how shit works. The “what about a month from now” argument would also always be true. Even if he announced a permanent end to tariffs he could still announce tariffs tomorrow.
Trump stared down Canada and Mexico and lost. He caved. It was obvious that he was caving when the White House started softening their messaging midday and saying that everything was just a big misunderstanding. The only concession he got was the ability to save face. Mexico re-announced an already in-place commitment. Canada announced some symbolic nonsense. That $1.3B in your original comment was announced more than a month before Trump took office.
He already has Fox News. We don’t need to help polish his losses into victories too.
You are essentially saying that Canada knows that it can’t win a trade war if push comes to shove. What that means is that whenever this situation happens, Canada is going to have to give up something, even if it’s a symbolic gesture, every time Trump pulls this stunt.
Trump already knows this. Again, take a look at the links. They are openly saying that they know the US has the upper hand and intends to use that to extract further concessions from Canada. The only question then becomes how much is Canada willing to appease Trump before they say “Enough.”? And what happens when (not if. When) Trump no longer settles for symbolic, face-saving gestures?
Well this is always the case everywhere. But 99.9999999% of the time, you don’t have to worry about the US reneging on its end of the deal on a whim. Every country knows that the other country could announce tariffs any time. But they typically have reasonable assurances that they won’t. Trump offers no such assurances beyond “I have altered the deal. Pray I do not alter it further.”
But it was announced and formed based on Trump talking points after the 2024 election. Being negotiated under Biden at the tail end of his administration is basically semantics since the whole thing had Trump’s fingerprints all over it anyway. Remember, Trump was promising to enact these tariffs in November. The deal was finalized in December, largely to appease the incoming Trump administration in the first place and in hopes that this whole mess of bullshit could be avoided. Of course Trump decided it wasn’t good enough, and here we are.
Define “win a trade war.” If Trump’s definition is ‘Canada becomes non-viable as a country and agrees to become a cherished 51st state,’ then the US can’t win a trade war either. The US has a much larger economy and can inflict more damage on Canada, but the US still can’t “win” in the extreme way you’re talking about. ‘No one wins and everyone suffers’ is basically a defining characteristic of trade wars.
Just in the auto industry, half a million Canadians would lose their jobs. It’s easy to say that you shouldn’t “concede” symbolism when you’re not responsible for people’s well-being. Again, there was always going to be a face-saving gesture. Your expectation that there wouldn’t be is unrealistic. Agreeing to some border theatre nonsense (to help solve imaginary problems!) that Canada would’ve done anyway had someone just asked nicely is not a big deal. Canada didn’t need an economic threat to… join a task force that was a Canadian proposal to begin with. The only reason that didn’t already exist is because ~0% of the fentanyl getting into the US is coming from Canada.
And?
Canada and Mexico have no control over this.
“We’re entering into a trade war because you might in the future go back on not having a trade war and start a trade war!”
And you’re talking about this like there are no costs to Trump or the US for doing this. There are. He blinked because it was going to cost him. As much as he can say, ‘this is a necessary sacrifice,’ he’s not personally willing to sacrifice a goddamn thing. Those costs will increase over time and skyrocket as we approach midterms.
Yes, they said “this fucking moron keeps talking about imaginary border shit. Let’s just pass this and hopefully it shuts him up.”
But that would’ve happened even if he didn’t sign the tariff order. You’re attributing it to Trump signing the tariff order and saying that Canada has just conceded it. That’s not true.