Trump’s new lows in diplomacy

“Trump’s imperialism speaks the language of resource extraction—or in the case of Greenland, the language of security. But it is not ultimately about resources. And it’s not ultimately about security either.” – Benjamin Wittes (1)

How does Wittes interpret the motivations of Trump‘s nasty and strange foreign policy?

Trump’s imperialism is about grandiosity. Greenland is big—very big. And the United States would be bigger, a whole lot bigger, if it had the island. And Trump wants America to be bigger. And Trump wants to be the one who made America bigger. Because Trump is derangedly grandiose.

Nobody can actually doubt that the president is deranged. [my emphasis]

The recent Davos gathering may rank up there with the February 2025 verbal “ambush” of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House as a dramatic diplomatic turning point.

The assessment that the U.S. is no longer a reliable ally has come gradually. The scales first fell from Europe’s leaders’ eyes when the Trump administration published its National Security Strategy in early December, in which it vowed to boost “patriotic European parties” to the detriment of the EU. (Which may go some way to explaining why some EU leaders, like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, are still clinging to Trump.)

Then, Trump renewed his rhetoric about taking Greenland, the U.S. ambassador to Iceland called himself the governor of the 52nd U.S. state, and Trump sent a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, in which he said that his failure to be awarded the Nobel Peace meant he would “no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace.”

One senior EU envoy said they were convinced the letter was a fake. Its authenticity was then confirmed. [my emphasis] (2)

British historian Simon Schama comments on European diplomacy with an demented President that seems Europe as adversaries, maybe even enemies. (3)

Notes:

(1) Wittes, Benjamin (2026): The Situation: “Evident Clinical Symptoms”. Lawfare 01/20/2026. <https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-situation---evident-clinical-symptoms> (Accessed: 2026-22-01).

(2) Sheftalovich, Zoya (2026): ‘Our American Dream is dead’: EU concedes Trump is not on its side. Politico Europe 01/22/2026. <https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-leaders-donald-trump-greenland-summit-davos-relief/> (Accessed: 2026-22-01).

(3) America is ‘no longer an ally’-Historian Sir Simon Schama. Times News YouTube channel 01/23/2026. <https://youtu.be/c_6MpH-B2wE?si=qs30J0bUsRHljJLC> (Accessed: 2026-22-01).