Even Trump’s Supporters Have Concerns About Apparent Overkill in President’s Pursuit of Greenland

There is room for some concern, even among the president’s most consistent supporters on policy matters, including this writer, over his judgment in a number of recent controversies. He has made his case of the legitimate American interest in assuring that Greenland does not come under Chinese or Russia or other non-NATO influence; that it is available for the proposed Golden Dome air defense project, and that America at least has first crack at exploitation of its strategic minerals. Denmark and Greenland have effectively conceded all that. It is accordingly unclear why President Trump stated last week that: “One way or another, we are going to have Greenland,” having said that the only acceptable outcome was having Greenland “in American hands.” His supporters, like others, are entitled to know why he is engaging in such overkill. Denmark is in the running for one of the most inoffensive countries in the world. It is a little socialist state with a long history, very tranquil, with a pleasant capital, and is chiefly known for making excellent beer. Its only interest in NATO is protection from the Russians, and it once had an opposition defense critic who proposed, not altogether in gest, eliminating the country’s modest armed forces and replacing them with a recording, which when the defense ministry was telephoned would say: “We surrender.” A former Danish premier was obnoxious and Mr. Trump cancelled his visit there in his first term, and the Danish representative at the European Parliament was gratuitously rude about the president approximately nine months ago. Yet these are trivial matters and leaders of Great Powers scoop up what they want when they get it and move on to more important things. There is no discernible purpose for continuing to flog this dead horse.Security forces during a pro-government rally on January 12, 2026 at Tehran. Stringer/Getty ImagesThe Iranian drama is not finished and comments on it at this stage should be made with the utmost caution. Mr. Trump’s statements encouraging the Iranians to attack their government and then standing down his threat of intervention because they had declared that they had not executed 800 protesters because of his intervention left the president’s admirers concerned about the consistency of his position. This is considerably aggravated by subsequent reports that the Iranian government used extreme Islamist mercenaries from Iraq to fire chemical weapons at the demonstrators that caused a delayed death in excruciating circumstances of many thousands of protesters. If these reports are confirmed, it leaves Mr. Trump no alternative but to follow through upon his threats against the Iranian leadership. If Iraqi mercenaries were used for this task it indicates that the Revolutionary Guard can no longer be relied upon to fire live ammunition at Iranian civilians and that the Islamist regime in Iran has been pushed to its last extremity and it is ripe to fall. The Arab powers in the region have allegedly been warning Mr. Trump that the overthrow of the ayatollahs could reduce all Iran to a bloodbath. This presumably and quite rightly influenced his thinking.Yet if the ayatollahs are now employing the most murderously zealous members of their international terrorist apparatus to massacre the civil population of Iran, it must be time to overthrow and exterminate this regime and recruit a group of countries whose goodwill can be relied upon to assist in trying to sort out the resulting chaos in Iran. The president’s judgment at times like this has proved to be good up to now, and I remain confident that he will do the right thing.An anti-government protest at Tehran, January 9, 2026. APOne recent positive sign is the apparent improvement in relations with Canada. Mr. Trump commended Prime Minister Mark Carney on negotiating a trade agreement with Communist China and nominated Mr. Carney to his Peace Bureau in Gaza. Mr. Carney joined the French and British leaders in promising to recognize an unrecognizably reformed Palestinian Authority as the government of the entity of Palestine before its borders are established and has made no useful contribution to Palestinian discussions.In any case the chief activity of the Peace Bureau in Gaza for the next little while is almost certain to be mute spectators as Israel completes the physical extermination of the Hamas terrorist operation. This recognition by Mr. Trump of Mr. Carney does indicate improving relations with America’s all-time closest and best ally, easily surpassing Israel and the United Kingdom. Adding the president’s name to the façade of the Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts on December 19, 2025. Jacquelyn Martin/APThe Kennedy Center is the chief recognition of President Kennedy at Washington and adding Mr. Trump’s name seems to many like putting his name ahead of the words Washington Monument or Lincoln Memorial. Though the parallel is inexact, recognition of past presidents should not be subject to a shuttlecock like the alternation of the name Hoover Dam and Boulder Dam for many years.The country is now accustomed to such forays into presidential commercialization as the president himself coming on television to advertise the merits of the Trump wrist-watch “in honor of your favorite president.” It is even slightly endearing. The president’s supporters can only hope that the Trump family’s extensive business activities, especially in the Middle East, are being handled with the utmost probity. Stylistic matters are much less important than substantive ones, but the president should know that some of his strongest supporters sometimes worry on his behalf.

Even Trump’s Supporters Have Concerns About Apparent Overkill in President’s Pursuit of Greenland

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