Connect with us

‘The Emperor Has No Clothes’: President Trump Is a Return to Reagan-Era Politics and Public Policy

Published

on

Trump Will Be as Detached and Disaffected as Reagan, Leaving Policy to His Anti-LGBT, Anti-Women, Anti-Immigrant White Nationalist Team

The election of New York City businessman and reality television personality Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States last week has sent shock waves crashing through the American body politic, as well as globally in the governments of both U.S. allies and opponents. 

While pundits, political experts, commentators and lay persons assess and discuss the implications of Trump’s ascendancy to the presidency, many communities within American society – including women, Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, and LGBT people – are in deep grief and despair. These often-minority communities share a state of fear brought about by Trump’s own words in speeches and social media posts during the course of his campaign that appeared to paint targets on them. In fact, his election has seen massive protests in numerous cities across the United States.

There are very concrete concerns that the incoming Trump Administration will declare war on these communities, principally by undoing the last eight years of work by the outgoing Obama administration as telegraphed in statements made by campaign officials and even the President-elect himself.

But one factor needs to be stated clearly given this current atmosphere regarding the President-elect: “The Emperor has no clothes.” Following this line of thought, one may reasonably draw the conclusion that there are direct parallels to the election and later the administration of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980.

Perhaps the main difference between the two men is the fact that while Reagan had served as Governor of California, and had a basic understanding of the machinations of government and its functions as an institution, Trump on the other hand has virtually no experience in governmental affairs or operations. Both men however share the singularly unique trait of detached engagement, preferring to “staff it out,” letting key issues be decided by their underlings and signing off on work product that they have oft times have not been active participants in. During campaigning, they both laid out a broad agenda, heavy on rhetoric, but with little real substance in terms of the direct actions they would take instead leaving those to others – read: staffers & appointees. 

As to almost highlight Trump and his team’s ignorance of governmental operations, The Wall Street Journal noted in a piece Monday that President Barack Obama indicated he will most likely spend more time with the President-elect than has been previously the norm, owing to the latter’s lack of knowledge as to the reality of presidential duties. 

“During their private White House meeting on Thursday, Mr. Obama walked his successor through the duties of running the country, and Mr. Trump seemed surprised by the scope, said people familiar with the meeting,” the WSJ reported. “Trump aides were described by those people as unaware that the entire presidential staff working in the West Wing had to be replaced at the end of Mr. Obama’s term.”

“After meeting with Mr. Trump, the only person to be elected president without having held a government or military position, Mr. Obama realized the Republican needs more guidance. He plans to spend more time with his successor than presidents typically do, people familiar with the matter said.”

The Reagan White House chiefly operated on the principal of delegated or designated authority with minimal presidential influence, interference, or direction, primarily filtered through his two Chiefs of Staff, Jim Baker who was succeeded by Donald Regan. Analysis of the Reagan presidency by political experts and historians over the past 28 years reveals that the Reagan Inner Circle, comprised of close aides, staffers, and what has been termed by historians, his “Kitchen Cabinet,” in many instances were instrumental in establishing the parameters for public policy that President Reagan himself simply signed off on. This was particularly true of domestic policies.

Now, thirty-six years later, Trump has already placed himself in a nearly identical “Reaganesque” scenario, surrounding himself with longtime Republican operatives and Washington insiders – contrary to his oft repeated campaign promises to “Drain the Swamp” of corrupt Washington lobbyist malaise and special interest influences, as his campaign transitions into an incoming presidential administration. Comparatively, as was the case with Reagan before him, Trump initially appears to be more of a figurehead chief executive as opposed to hands on and fully engaged president.

For the critical White House position of Chief of Staff, Trump has selected long time consummate Washington insider, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. This selection of Priebus, recommended by GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan, is seen as widely acceptable to large segments of the Republican Party and its base. Priebus will act as the primary conduit between the White House and the Republican-led Congress, as well as the liaison between Trump and his presidential Cabinet and the independent Federal Agency heads. 

While Trump’s selection of Priebus seems to telegraph a certain acceptance of Washington conventions, his next decision, naming Steve Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, as “chief strategist and senior counselor” to the president, has set off alarms in both the liberal and some of the moderate conservative camps. Bannon’s new position not only makes him one of Trump’s closest advisers with unfettered access to the Oval Office, but indeed one may argue makes him one of the most powerful people in America. 

In a statement released Monday by his office, Oregon Democratic U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley took serious exception regarding Steve Bannon serving in the Trump White House: 

“There should be no sugarcoating the truth here: Donald Trump just invited a white nationalist into the highest reaches of the government. Bannon has boasted that he made Breitbart News ‘the platform for the alt-right,’ which is the politically correct term for the resurrection of white nationalism.

“Under Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart News created news sections such as ‘Black Crime’ and compared the work of Planned Parenthood to the Holocaust. Under his leadership, Breitbart News ran this headline following the massacre of nine church-goers at an African American church in Charleston: ‘Hoist it high and proud: The Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage.’ He called conservative commentator Bill Kristol a ‘renegade Jew.’ Steve Bannon bears substantial responsibility for the open and disgusting acts of hatred that are sweeping across our nation. 

“After running a campaign built on inciting divisions and hate, Donald Trump has claimed he wants to unite America. Yet he has done nothing meaningful to stop the wave of hate crimes and hate speech he has unleashed, and now has brought that strategy right into the Oval Office. 

“Donald Trump needs to forcefully denounce the hateful actions and efforts to intimidate people that some of his supporters are undertaking and rescind the appointment of Steve Bannon.” 

Judd Legum, the Editor-In-Chief of ThinkProgress, the online publication of Washington D.C. based progressive policy think-tank Center for American Progress, noted that Breitbart “regularly traffics in racially charged accusations about President Obama, provocative comparisons between abortion providers and Holocaust killers, and contempt for feminism.” 

More damning was an observation from former Breitbart Editor-In-Chief Ben Shapiro, who described Bannon as “a vindictive, nasty figure, infamous for verbally abusing supposed friends and threatening enemies.”

Jody May-Chang, a progressive journalist and LGBTQI equality rights activist based in Idaho called out the President-elect’s choice, saying:

“’Alt-Right’ is a Politically Correct term they call themselves who are also known for being what we all call White Supremacists, Nazi’s and the Ku Kluz Klan! The people who voted for Trump say they were rejecting political correctness. Well then we should too, in this case particularly.”

Yet the most powerful Republican in the capital, House Speaker Ryan said Sunday evening he had “no concerns” about Bannon taking a prominent role in the White House. 

Trump has already angered social conservatives, Christian family groups, and LGBTQI equality rights opponents and also, according to one source inside his transition team, members of his inner circle with his statement Sunday night given to CBS News’ “60 Minutes” correspondent Leslie Stahl on the subject of same-sex marriage. The President-elect told her regarding the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year, “it’s the law of the land.”

“It’s irrelevant because it was already settled. It’s law,” he said. “It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean it’s done … these cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They’ve been settled. And – I think – I’m – I’m fine with that.” 

As the protests continue and minority groups debate the full impact of a Trump presidency that includes a divisive figure like Bannon, for the LGBTQI community, the incoming  administration could mean rolling back all of President Barack Obama’s executive orders, which gave measures of protection for the transgender community, required health care providers and hospitals to allow unfettered access to partners and spouses in same-sex relationships, and gave spouses of LGBTQI U.S. military personnel equal treatment with the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts.

Also possibly targeted would be the Veteran’s Administration policies in regards to same-sex married couples. Even recent actions by the U.S. Defense Department, in regard to allowing transgender personnel to serve, could come under intense scrutiny and siege.

Major advances for the LGBTQI community would take congressional action to undo and most experts agree are highly unlikely- although not outside the realm of the possibility of the anti-LGBTQI  groups attempting to push the incoming Congress into taking action. The Vice-President-elect, former Indiana Republican Governor Michael Pence, is an outspoken opponent of LGBTQI rights and is seen by some progressive leaders to be the person most likely in the new administration to lead a campaign to undo eight years of progress made by the Obama Administration in support of the LGBTQI community.

One LGBTQI rights activist noted” “If there is any one person who poses the biggest threat to our way of life it is Mike Pence, who wants to erode the separation between church and state, tell women what to do with their bodies, use electroshock on teens to rid them of their gayness, and discourage the use of condoms.”

The other Trump appointment that has riled up LGBTQI people and their allies was the Presidential Transition-Team appointment of former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, currently a visiting Fellow at the Washington D.C. based anti-LGBTQI rights group, Family Research Center. That group has been listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an active hate group for its blatant disregard for the truth about the LGBTQI community and its penchant for spreading misinformation about LGBTQI persons.

Blackwell, who was appointed Chief Domestic Policy adviser to Trump, said in a 2006 interview with the Columbus Dispatch;

“I think homosexuality is a lifestyle, it’s a choice, and that lifestyle can be changed. The reality is, again … that I think we make choices all the time. And I think you make good choices and bad choices in terms of lifestyle. Our expectation is that one’s genetic makeup might make one more inclined to be an arsonist or might make one more inclined to be a kleptomaniac. Do I think that they can be changed? Yes.” 

Since the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell took an Act of Congress, and a reinstatement would require passage of a new law, which almost certainly would be challenged by the LGBTQI community and its allies, but, even the Pentagon itself, thus there is small probability of the anti-LGBTQI forces, including the incoming Vice-President. However, actions taken by Defence Secretary Ash Carter this past June to allow transgender service in the U.S. Military most likely would be reversed.  

The next “safe” advancement for the LGBTQI community was the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Act, passed by Congressional action and signed into law by President Obama. There is little probability that the forces arrayed against the LGBTQI community would attempt repeal, given that the law also covers other minorities.

That said, however, Trump has publicly indicated he would sign the so-called First Amendment Defence Act (FADA), a measure that effectively would allow legalised discrimination against the LGBTQI  community based on religious beliefs. As Governor of Indiana, Pence backed and signed a similar measure and had the backing of virtually every anti-LGBTQI group.

The third issue that has raised the most concern undoubtedly is the ruling in June of 2015 that granted same-sex couples the right to be married. Trump’s statements Sunday have now raised some questions in Washington’s conservative circles as to whether or not he’d support all out efforts to overturn the High Court decision. Legal observers however have pointed out that there are significant obstacles for the right to nullify that ruling.

Backers of a Constitutional Amendment readily agree that it would take years and there is not an iron clad certainty that the necessary 2/3 majority of States to ratify such an amendment would be a reality. The second path, bringing forward another case would be faced with several obstacles, commencing with the current court. Should Trump appoint a social conservative in the same vein as Justice Scalia, it merely would regain the make-up and balance of the SCOTUS as it was at the time of the ruling.

Then too, as current Justices Ginsburg, 83, and Breyer, 79, may leave office and President Trump is able to shift the balance on the court to the right, there are still the logistics of a case making its way up through the lower federal courts. Legal observers say that besides also taking years, given the exhaustive back and forth, the lower courts could likely dismiss challenges, preventing another review by the High Court. 

In short, Obergefell could be overturned, but not immediately.

Other communities are facing adverse actions such as the President-elect’s public statements that he will seek to enforce the mass deportation or incarceration of what he has labeled criminal illegal (undocumented) aliens. House Speaker Ryan was quick to point out that the United States government is not prepared to create a massive federal force to sustain Trump’s deportation agenda although experts are now questioning by which means Trump actually hopes to achieve that goal. On the subject of his campaign promise to build a wall? He now acknowledges that any wall would likely comprise large segments of fencing. 

Overall the focus now by politicos and the media is on his ability to form and run a government, which given his inexperience is looking as though he, like Reagan, will be relying on staff and his appointees who will really run the show. Therein lies the greatest challenge.

 

Brody Levesque is the Chief Political Correspondent for The New Civil Rights Movement.
You may contact Brody at Brody.Levesque@thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

 

 Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

‘Who Exactly Is Running the Government?’: Trump’s War Plans Leak Denial Backfires

Published

11 hours ago

on

March 24, 2025

By

President Donald Trump’s claim that he was unaware of a cabinet-level breach of classified information—an incident reportedly involving up to 18 top national security officials discussing sensitive details of a planned military strike—appears to have backfired, raising questions about his knowledge of the actions of his top officials, and, as Commander-in-Chief, his knowledge of U.S. national security and military operations.

The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed Monday afternoon that he inadvertently had been included in the 18-person group chat on the unclassified messaging app Signal. Experts say those discussions should never have been held over the app, but rather inside a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or inside multiple SCIFs.

On Monday afternoon at a press conference, a reporter asked the Commander-in-Chief for his reaction to the story in The Atlantic.

“I don’t know anything about it,” was Trump’s immediate response. His next response was to attack the media outlet.

“I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic, it’s, to me it’s a magazine that’s going out of business,” the President declared. “I think it’s not much of a magazine, but I know nothing about it.”

READ MORE: Alina Habba Immediately Targets Top NJ Democrats After Trump Names Her New US Attorney

He then asked the reporter to explain to him what had been reported in The Atlantic.

“You’re saying that they had what?” “Having to do with what?” he asked twice. “What were they talking about?”

After the reporter gave him more information, Trump, seemingly still not understanding all the details, declared that the leak “couldn’t have been very effective because the attack was very effective, I can tell you that.”

He again denied any knowledge of the leak.

“I don’t know anything about it,” Trump repeated. “You, you’re telling me about it for the first time.”

The White House has acknowledged the leak occurred. Axios called it a “mind-boggling security breach.” The Washington Post reported that “the disclosure raises questions about how the administration has discussed classified issues and whether anyone will be disciplined.”

“As the bombing campaign moved ahead, Hegseth’s [Signal] account shared details that Goldberg said he believed could put at risk the safety of U.S. troops or intelligence officials, especially those deployed in the Middle East,” the Post reported. “Those details, the Atlantic article says, allegedly included the specific weapons to be used and in which sequence the Houthi targets would be hit.”

Military and national security experts are stunned — not only that this massive leak occurred, but that the President was not informed until a reporter asked him about it on Monday.

“If the President is telling the truth and no one’s briefed him about this yet, that’s another story in itself. In any other administration, CoS would have been in the Oval within nanoseconds of learning about something like this, wrote The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols via social media, referring to the White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Nichols is a retired U.S. Naval War College professor who is an expert on national security, international affairs, Russia, and nuclear weapons.

“Heads need to roll for this. They have broken laws and endangered the lives of our service members with this idiocy,” commented Army veteran of 22 years, Fred Wellman, a graduate of West Point and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Journalist Wajahat Ali wrote, “What’s worse is that he HAS no idea, allegedly, about the story, which makes it even worse and more terrifying. Like, bro, why don’t you know?”

“One wild thing about Trump,” observed journalist Isaac Saul, “is that he is notoriously insulated from certain information streams by his team. Absolutely believable that he went out to the podium having not been informed of this massive story bc the people who brief him on info were culpable in the leaks.”

READ MORE: Arkansas Senator Files Bill to Abolish State Library, Give Education Department Control

“Here’s some insight,” offered Sophia Kinzinger, a former press secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “The White House has an entire department, staffed by military professionals, dedicated to facilitating secure communications. They travel with staff, provide devices, and set up SCIFs (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities) whenever and wherever needed, operating 24/7. There is absolutely no excuse for mishandling classified information, especially for someone leading the National Security Council at the White House. Their actions clearly demonstrate a lack of qualification for such a critical role. we deserve better!”

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) added: “If it’s true that the President of the United States had no idea that his war cabinet and VP were discussing war plans on a Signal chat that included a journalist, that is astounding ignorance and profound incompetence.”

Derek Martin, who conducted supply chain counterintelligence at the National Security Agency (NSA), asked: “If Trump doesn’t know about a major incident involving his VP, Chief of Staff, NatSec Advisor, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Director of National Intelligence, and CIA Director, then who exactly is running the government?”

U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), according to Deadline, wrote: “Every single one of the government officials on this text chain have now committed a crime – even if accidentally – that would normally involve a jail sentence. We can’t trust anyone in this dangerous administration to keep Americans safe.”

In his report at The Atlantic, Goldberg noted that “coordinating a national-security-related action over Signal, may have violated several provisions of the Espionage Act, which governs the handling of ‘national defense’ information, according to several national-security lawyers interviewed by my colleague Shane Harris for this story.”

Goldberg also explained that he chose to not publish all of the texts, noting that, “if [some] had been read by an adversary of the United States, [they] could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel, particularly in the broader Middle East, Central Command’s area of responsibility. What I will say, in order to illustrate the shocking recklessness of this Signal conversation, is that the Hegseth post contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Claims US ‘Doesn’t Need Anything From Canada’, Yet Still Wants It as a State

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

Alina Habba Immediately Targets Top NJ Democrats After Trump Names Her New US Attorney

Published

15 hours ago

on

March 24, 2025

By

President Donald Trump has named his former personal attorney Alina Habba, who has been serving as White House Counselor, the interim, or acting, United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Habba immediately lashed out at the Garden State’s top Democrats.

Trump said the he is also nominating the current acting U.S. Attorney, John Giordano, who has been in that role for a mere three weeks, to a new post: U.S. ambassador to Namibia. Giordano is listed as a member of the White House Historical Association.

Habba, who recently faced backlash for suggesting that veterans dismissed from federal jobs may be “not fit to have a job at this moment,” quickly went on the offensive against U.S. Senator Cory Booker and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (video below), claiming they have “failed the state of New Jersey.”

READ MORE: ‘Fake Tough Guy’: JD and Usha Vance Blasted for Greenland Threat and ‘Aggressive’ Visit

Telling reporters that “there is corruption, there is injustice, and there is a heavy amount of crime right in Cory Booker’s backyard and right under Governor Murphy,” Habba vowed, “that will stop.”

“I look forward to working with Pam Bondi and with the Department of Justice and making sure that we further the president’s agenda of putting America first, cleaning up mess, and going after the people that we should be going after, not the people that are falsely accused,” she said, a possible reference to the numerous state and federal charges Trump had faced until winning back the White House.

Politico describes Habba as Trump’s “legal attack dog.” Trump remains a convicted felon after being convicted by a jury in the State of New York on 34 counts of business fraud in what prosecutors said was an effort to influence the 2016 election.

The New York Post’s Manhattan Courts reporter Molly Crane-Newman noted on Monday that “Habba’s behavior during Trump’s defamation trial last year was so far outside the bounds that Judge Kaplan threatened to imprison her.”

READ MORE: Arkansas Senator Files Bill to Abolish State Library, Give Education Department Control

The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reported that “Habba previously represented Trump in the New York civil cases where he was ordered to pay $450m for inflating his net worth and $83m for defaming E Jean Carroll.”

“In 2023, a federal judge also ordered Trump and Habba to pay $1m in sanctions for filing a frivolous claim against Hillary Clinton and others, calling the lawsuit ‘a hodgepodge of disconnected, often immaterial events, followed by an implausible conclusion,'” Lowell added.

Critics blasted the decision to name Habba.

Talking Points Memo founder and editor Josh Marshall appeared to compare Habba to an underboss in the Mafia, writing: “lol Alina Habba is now the capo of New Jersey.”

Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner wrote, “I served as an AUSA in the District of NJ from 2001-04.”

“I’m disgusted by this,” he said, adding: “Caligula’s horse would have been a better choice.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Claims US ‘Doesn’t Need Anything From Canada’, Yet Still Wants It as a State

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

‘Fake Tough Guy’: JD and Usha Vance Blasted for Greenland Threat and ‘Aggressive’ Visit

Published

17 hours ago

on

March 24, 2025

By

Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance are launching a coordinated campaign targeting Greenland, the semi-autonomous Danish territory that President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring for the United States—despite firm resistance from Denmark, Greenland’s residents, and NATO allies such as France.

Over the weekend, the White House announced that the Second Lady will travel to Greenland, the world’s largest island, on Thursday with one of the Vances’ sons.


It could be considered a cultural charm offensive given her published agenda, but also traveling to Greenland are Trump National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. According to The New York Times, Wright and Waltz are not traveling with the Second Lady, while others, including Sky News, report that Vance “will lead the delegation.”

‘WHAT IS THE SECURITY ADVISER DOING IN GREENLAND?’

Waltz is a former Army Special Forces officer who is seen as a war hawk. A Republican former U.S. Congressman, he was the sponsor of the American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act of 2020, which highlights the importance of the U.S. becoming independent from China for critical rare earth minerals. Some experts say Trump’s desire to take over Greenland is due to its rare earth minerals.

READ MORE: Arkansas Senator Files Bill to Abolish State Library, Give Education Department Control

Wright is the former CEO of a hydraulic fracturing company who served on the boards of companies related to nuclear technology and mineral and mining rights royalty payments.

Ahead of the visits, the Prime Minister of Greenland is sounding the alarm.

“The Trump administration’s posture is ‘now so serious that the level cannot be raised any higher,’ Prime Minister Múte Egede said in an interview with Greenlandic publication Sermitsiaq Sunday, according to a translation,” Axios reports.

“We are now at a level where it can in no way be characterized as a harmless visit from a politician’s wife,” Egede reportedly also said.

Asking, “what is the security adviser doing in Greenland?”  the Prime Minister said Waltz’s presence is a “demonstration of power.”

The New York Times added that Egede “said on Sunday that Greenlanders’ effort to be diplomatic just ‘bounces off Donald Trump and his administration in their mission to own and control Greenland.'”

The Trump administration’s posture is that this is just a friendly visit.

“The United States has a vested security interest in the Arctic region, and it should not be a surprise the national security adviser and secretary of energy are visiting a U.S. space base to get firsthand briefings from our service members on the ground,” Brian Hughes, the National Security Council spokesman, said in a statement. “We also look forward to experiencing Greenland’s famous hospitality and are confident that this visit presents an opportunity to build on partnerships that respects Greenland’s self-determination and advances economic cooperation. This is a visit to learn about Greenland, its culture, history and people.”

VP VANCE TARGETS GREENLAND

Meanwhile, Vice President Vance has come under fire in the U.S. for remarks he made on Sunday, which were anything but friendly.

“Denmark, which controls Greenland, it’s not doing its job, and it’s not being a good ally,” Vice President Vance told Fox News (video below). “So you have to ask yourself, how are we going to solve that problem, solve our own national security?”

“If that means that we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do, because he doesn’t care about what the Europeans scream at us. He cares about putting the interests of American citizens first.”

CRITICS BLAST VP

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, now a Stanford University professor of political science wrote: “Trump and Vance have never explained what US national security would be advanced by invading Greenland. Not once. We can buy their minerals without invading. We can open new bases without invading. And even buying Greenland would be a giant waste of money. And Denmark is doing its job providing on a per capita basis much more to Ukraine than we are.”

“The US has real security challenges to address. We don’t need to be inventing new ones by threatening to invade an ally,” Ambassador McFaul added.

READ MORE: Trump Claims US ‘Doesn’t Need Anything From Canada’, Yet Still Wants It as a State

Former U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica, Luis Moreno, noted that “Denmark lost 43 soldiers killed and over 200 wounded defending the United States of America in Afghanistan. But they’re ‘not a good ally.’ These people have no shame, no honor. Hope Denmark is taking steps to avoid a ‘Reichstag Fire’ type incident during provocative US VIP visits.”

Journalist, attorney, and former House Oversight Committee counsel Sophia A Nelson, a Republican turned independent, called Vance “a quack,” and added: “Threatening to take the territory of a sovereign nation, just because is sick, demented and dangerous. Also illegal.”

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican of Nebraska, chastised the vice president: “Denmark has been a great ally. They’ve served with us in the Middle East. They’ve been key contributors to Ukraine. Greenland is also our ally. We have a great base there and they’re willing to partner more. Let’s be a better ally and not a bully in our own right.”

Journalist John Harwood criticized the Vice President’s remarks, writing: “yes, you and Trump are bold enough to harm our allies and surrender to our enemies congratulations, fake tough guy anti-American freak.”

Healthcare advocate and former Democratic congressional candidate Melanie D’Arrigo said, “Trump wants to take Greenland because Elon wants to control the critical minerals his companies’ products rely on. Cut through the gaslighting and don’t overthink it. $390 million of Musk’s money buys a lot of policy.”

Joerg Lau, international correspondent for the German weekly DIE ZEIT warned: “We are heading for a clash. At some point, someone in Europe will have to stand up to this outrage. The US Vice President is threatening an EU member, a NATO member. We need a collective response to this. Appeasement is not working.”

Former Republican U.S. Congressman Adam Kinzinger added, “In fact, Denmark is one of our best allies, and one of the top donors to Ukraine relative to their size. Shut your stupid mouth @JDVance.”

Author and former FBI agent Joe Navarro warned, “Beware when out of nowhere, a leader says there is a security problem when none exists. Jethro needs to tune it down just a bit, Greenland Is part of a sovereign nation. Nation states are not up for grabs unless you are Mussolini, Hitler, or Putin, or . . .”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: AG Pam Bondi Says Tesla Vandals Could Get 20 Years In Prison

 

Image via Reuters 

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.