Trump’s senile behavior a sign of American Empire gone mad |
President Donald Trump’s latest bout of erratic behavior — culminating in a public campaign to acquire Greenland while linking that policy to not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize — is alarming international observers and allies alike. Trump reportedly dispatched a message to Norway’s prime minister asserting that, because he had been “snubbed” by the Nobel committee, he no longer felt any “obligation to think purely of Peace,” thereby rationalizing intensified pressure on Denmark and European NATO members over Greenland’s future.
This move included threats of tariffs against several European countries and revived speculation that US military options remain on the table — this strange mix of personal grievance and geopolitical coercion that has raised alarm.
No wonder European capitals are voicing concern. What once appeared as political eccentricity now verges on a geopolitical crisis, with Emmanuel Macron and others rebuking Trump’s approach as intimidation or “bullying” and a violation of international norms, while NATO discussions over Arctic security and transatlantic unity gain increased urgency.
At face value, all of this may look like a bizarre diplomatic stunt beyond any conventional statecraft. It is, once again, about the deteriorating cognitive and behavioral stability of the person occupying the world’s most powerful office, compounded by the broader institutional decay of American democracy.
It is true that, for decades, Trump’s personality has been described as unconventional at best. His blunt, New York gangster-like........