The Trump Presidency Is Going Great

The Trump Presidency Is Going Great

Documenting the chaos since day one — one awful day at a time.

4,853entries documented
+15added in last 24h
+168this week
Nov 2024covering since
Category: imperialism

Monday, January 26, 2026

imperialism

trump launches board of peace, keeps board of bombs fully funded

Trump unveils his 'Board of Peace' in front of a backdrop of places that need rebuilding from all the peace he’s been delivering.

Trump unveils his 'Board of Peace' in front of a backdrop of places that need rebuilding from all the peace he’s been delivering.

Trump has spent the past year rattling sabers, dropping bombs, and threatening pretty much anyone with a shoreline, so naturally he’s now rolling out a grand new branding exercise called the global "Board of Peace." Because nothing says committed to nonviolence like treating military force as your first draft and a peace board as the marketing copy. The shiny new plan is being sold as Trump-the-Peacemaker’s big vision for the world, even as the actual work of rebuilding Gaza remains a brutal slog of shattered infrastructure, displaced civilians, and underfunded relief. In other words, the people picking through the rubble get photo ops and vague promises, while Trump gets another podium to brag about his "historic" peace efforts. So we now have a president who regularly reaches for the military option, then turns around and demands credit for being a statesman because he stapled the word "Peace" onto a board. Gaza’s reality is concrete dust and humanitarian crisis; Trump’s reality is a press release about his soaring ambitions. But sure, let’s all pretend the Board of Peace is going to fix what the bombs broke.
npr.orgSource Article
#imperialism#killing-democracy

Sunday, January 25, 2026

imperialism

kidnap first, declare war later

When your foreign policy is just a silhouette of a guy’s head filled with explosions, but somehow the Pentagon still calls it ‘measured’.

When your foreign policy is just a silhouette of a guy’s head filled with explosions, but somehow the Pentagon still calls it ‘measured’.

Donald Trump has apparently decided that the "America First" foreign policy now includes kidnapping heads of state and threatening to bomb a NATO ally’s territory. In this fun new phase of the regime, he’s abducted Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro, is menacing Iran with troops, and is fixated on Greenland like a bored Bond villain with early-onset map addiction. Even his own supporters are confused, which is impressive given what they’ve already swallowed. Peter Beinhart walks through the depressing American tradition that got us here: presidents start cautious after a disaster like Vietnam or Iraq, then a few "easy" wars go well, and suddenly the White House is drunk on "surgical" violence and medals. Trump, who once ran as the guy who hated pointless wars, has now discovered that nothing says "global domination" like a quick kidnapping, some airstrikes, and a total disregard for international law. Hubris plus unchecked executive power plus a president obsessed with domination – history suggests this story doesn’t end with Greenland turning into a timeshare, it ends with catastrophe.
theguardian.comSource Article
#imperialism#killing-democracy

Friday, January 23, 2026

imperialism

trump dumps the kurds for his new jihadist bestie

Donald Trump and Ahmed al‑Sharaa, smiling for the cameras as they jointly announce that everything is under control, especially the parts currently on fire.

Donald Trump and Ahmed al‑Sharaa, smiling for the cameras as they jointly announce that everything is under control, especially the parts currently on fire.

Donald Trump has decided that the best way to honor the Kurds who fought and died alongside the US against Islamic State is to… hand their territory to a former jihadist strongman and call it peace. President Ahmed al‑Sharaa, once the proud owner of a $10m US bounty on his head, is now "attractive, tough" in Trump-speak, which is MAGA for "we lifted sanctions because he flatters me and promises to do the dirty work." The Kurdish-led SDF, which held a quarter of Syria and the bulk of the actual anti-ISIS fight, is being shoved toward "dissolution" while Damascus moves in. Because nothing says "loyal ally" like letting your proxy forces get steamrolled the second they become politically inconvenient. US envoy / walking conflict-of-interest Tom Barrack helpfully announced that the "rationale" for partnering with the SDF has "largely expired" now that Assad 2.0 is ready to take over security. Translation: we found a dictator who’ll run the prisons and the counterinsurgency so we don’t have to pretend to care. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of ISIS suspects and families in sprawling camps like al-Hawl are being left to rot or riot, while Washington ships 7,000 "most hardened" fighters off to Iraq and just sort of hopes nobody notices the words torture, forced confessions, or executions. Years of zero investment in deradicalisation have turned these camps into extremism factories, but Western governments are still playing hot potato with their own citizens stripped of nationality, pretending responsibility can just be deported away. Back in Europe, the same governments that spent a decade clutching pearls about Syrian refugees are now pushing to deport them back to a shattered country that needs an estimated $200bn to rebuild, is still run by a centralized authoritarian regime, and has "inclusive dialogue" in the same way prisons have "open concept." Austria and friends are suddenly very excited about declaring Syria "safe" now that they don’t want to deal with the people who fled. In other words: Trump hugs a rehabilitated jihadist strongman, throws the Kurds under the tank, outsources ISIS detention to the nearest torture-adjacent jurisdiction, and Europe tries to stuff the survivors back into the warzone — but sure, tell us again how this is all about "stability" and "security."
theguardian.comSource Article
#imperialism#killing-democracy
imperialism

commander in cosplay sends 'armada' to iran, declares himself savior of 837 people he didn’t actually save

The aftermath of Iran’s economic collapse and protest crackdown, now featuring a bonus U.S. carrier group headed their way because Washington never met a crisis it couldn’t escalate with ships.

The aftermath of Iran’s economic collapse and protest crackdown, now featuring a bonus U.S. carrier group headed their way because Washington never met a crisis it couldn’t escalate with ships.

Donald Trump, fresh off his Davos ego massage, announced that a U.S. "armada" is steaming toward Iran, because nothing says thoughtful diplomacy like LARPing as a 1940s battleship commander while a brutal regime massacres its own people. With activists saying more than 5,000 protesters have been killed and the U.N. documenting “gross human rights violations,” Trump’s main priority is making sure everyone knows he supposedly stopped "837 hangings" with a single tough-guy line. Iran, for its part, is busy doing its own authoritarian greatest hits: internet blackouts, mass killings, torture, and forced confessions, while claiming the dead are mostly "terrorists" and blaming the U.S. and Israel. But into this horror show strides Trump, insisting his threats alone halted a wave of executions—claims Iran’s prosecutor general calls "completely false" and "irrational and arrogant." In other words: the guy overseeing a crackdown that’s killed thousands still thinks Trump is too unhinged to take seriously. Meanwhile, the White House is moving a carrier strike group, extra aircraft, and air defenses into the region, with Trump bragging about a "big force going to Iran" that he just might use if Tehran crosses his ever-shifting red line. So we’ve got a genocidal theocracy on one side and, on the other, a U.S. president treating potential war like a reality show cliffhanger where he’s both the host and the self-declared hero. But sure, tell us again how this is all about "protecting human rights" and not about a flailing authoritarian fantasizing about being the guy who decides when the bombs drop.
nbcnews.comSource ArticleAlso: theguardian.comAlso: theguardian.com
#imperialism#national-security

Thursday, January 22, 2026

imperialism

trump rebrands gaza as beachfront investment opportunity

Marco Rubio watches a slide deck explaining how to turn a bombed-out enclave into a beachfront IPO, while pretending this is foreign policy and not a timeshare presentation over a mass grave.

Marco Rubio watches a slide deck explaining how to turn a bombed-out enclave into a beachfront IPO, while pretending this is foreign policy and not a timeshare presentation over a mass grave.

The Trump administration took a two-year war, 60 million tonnes of rubble, and an 81% destruction rate in Gaza and said: have you considered luxury condos? At Davos, because of course it was Davos, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a "New Gaza" PowerPoint that looks like someone reskinned SimCity over an active crime scene. Skyscrapers, coastal tourism, data centres, and a shiny new seaport are all on the menu—just as long as Israel keeps a nice, empty "security perimeter" wrapped around the whole thing. Jared Kushner, still LARPing as a Middle East strategist, bragged about "catastrophic success" and explained that they briefly considered a "free zone" and a "Hamas zone" before deciding to just bulldoze their way to utopia. He promised "amazing investment opportunities" for the private sector, because nothing says post-genocidal reconstruction like pitching venture capital on beachfront rubble. Meanwhile, Rafah—once a Palestinian city, now largely leveled and folded into Israeli-controlled territory—is slated to become "New Rafah" with 100,000 housing units and 75 medical facilities, as if you can just slap "New" in front of a name and erase who lived there and how they were removed. Trump, ever the "real estate person at heart," helpfully clarified that Gaza is actually just a "beautiful piece of property" waiting to be flipped into the "Riviera of the Middle East"—a concept he floated last year alongside the idea of permanently relocating Palestinians to neighboring countries. In other words, the US is openly workshopping ethnic cleansing plus resort development as a peace plan, and calling it the "Board of Peace" because of course they are. But sure, tell us again how this is about security and not about carving up a shattered enclave into a militarized investment park.
bbc.comSource ArticleAlso: nbcnews.comAlso: theguardian.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy#forever-grifting
imperialism

qatar buys trump a jet, trump buys himself a venezuelan president

Trump’s Venezuela policy, illustrated: a $400m foreign jet, a few backchannel chats, and some attack helicopters for when diplomacy gets boring.

Trump’s Venezuela policy, illustrated: a $400m foreign jet, a few backchannel chats, and some attack helicopters for when diplomacy gets boring.

The Guardian reports that before US attack helicopters literally flew into Caracas to grab Nicolás Maduro like he was an overdue library book, Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez and her brother Jorge were quietly telling Trump world: don’t worry, we’ll totally cooperate after he’s gone. In other words, not a coup, just a prearranged regime-change handover with better PR. Marco Rubio, now playing Secretary of State and national security adviser in the world’s worst one-man show, apparently decided this was the best way to avoid “chaos” — because nothing says stability like a US snatch operation in a foreign capital. While Delcy was publicly denouncing transition plots, privately she was signaling “Maduro needs to go” and promising to work with US oil interests, which, shockingly, made her much more interesting to Washington. Meanwhile, Qatar — described as a key ally and, more importantly, the proud donor of a $400m luxury jet for Trump’s personal use in an “unprecedented” foreign gift — helpfully opened doors in the White House for her backchannel negotiations. But sure, tell us again how this was all about democracy and preventing a failed state, and not about foreign governments buying access, oil ties, and a president who can be swayed with a flying golden bribe. Ric Grenell pops up early to cut prisoner deals, deportation flights are carefully coordinated with the same regime we’re about to hit with helicopters, and everyone swears this definitely wasn’t a coup, just a collaborative, multinational kidnap-and-transition experience. Delcy, who apparently loves champagne and private ping-pong coaching, is recast from loyal Maduro apparatchik to acceptable transitional partner the second she promises to play nice with American oil. Because in Trump’s foreign policy, there are no permanent allies or enemies, only permanent business opportunities.
theguardian.comSource ArticleAlso: theguardian.comAlso: theguardian.com
#imperialism#forever-grifting#killing-democracy

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

imperialism

trump tries imperialism speedrun, yells at allies when they read the patch notes

Donald Trump studies a Risk board, mistakes it for the State Department briefing, and demands tariffs until someone hands him Greenland.

Donald Trump studies a Risk board, mistakes it for the State Department briefing, and demands tariffs until someone hands him Greenland.

Donald Trump is now speed‑running the collapse of the postwar order by threatening to annex Canada, menacing Denmark over Greenland, and slapping punitive tariffs on allies for the crime of respecting each other’s sovereignty. Because nothing says "leader of the free world" like shouting "gimme your island" at NATO members and then throwing a tariff tantrum when they decline. Mark Carney, now Canadian prime minister thanks in part to Trump’s helpful "maybe we’ll just annex you" campaign ad, is in Davos calmly explaining that the US is vandalizing the rules‑based order and that "middle powers" need to build new coalitions from the rubble Trump leaves behind. In other words: while Washington is busy live‑streaming its own credibility bonfire, everyone else has to figure out how not to get burned. Over in London, Keir Starmer is trying the "quiet diplomacy" thing — praising "calm discussion" after Trump threatens tariffs for backing Danish sovereignty over Greenland, then getting called "stupid" for returning the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in line with, you know, international law and prior US approval. Starmer mildly pushes back; Trump responds with more public bullying, because the whole point is to show that treaties, allies, and prior commitments mean nothing next to the vibes of the moment. The Guardian’s gentle conclusion: this mid‑Atlantic tightrope act is dead. You can’t simultaneously hug the guy who’s wrecking NATO, menacing allies with trade guns, and treating other countries like collectible map DLC, and still pretend we’re in the old rules‑based world. Someone has to "name reality" — that the US president is running an openly transactional, low‑rent imperialism cosplay — or Britain and the rest of the "middle powers" will keep discovering the hard way that quiet diplomacy doesn’t work on a man who only hears tariffs and flattery.
theguardian.comSource ArticleAlso: theguardian.comAlso: bbc.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy
imperialism

trump threatens to annex greenland, reinvent un as paywall

President Trump, JD Vance, and Marco Rubio audition for a reboot of manifest destiny, now with more nukes and fewer brain cells.

President Trump, JD Vance, and Marco Rubio audition for a reboot of manifest destiny, now with more nukes and fewer brain cells.

Donald Trump is landing in Davos to explain to rattled European allies why the new American foreign policy is basically: "Nice continent you’ve got there, shame if someone annexed parts of it." He’s demanding Denmark hand over Greenland "willingly or not," floating military action against a NATO ally, and slapping 10% tariffs on Denmark and seven other European countries unless they cough up the world’s largest island like it’s a timeshare he got upsold at Mar-a-Lago. Because nothing says "defending Western democracy" like forcing fellow democracies to choose between economic blackmail and the threat of invasion, Trump is also eyeing Canada as a potential 51st state. Canada, normally content to worry about moose and housing prices, is now reportedly drawing up plans for how to respond to a hypothetical U.S. attack. Meanwhile, Greenland’s prime minister says an invasion "can’t be ruled out"—a sentence that used to belong in alternate history novels, not NBC News. To sell this, Trump posted an image of himself planting an American flag in the tundra next to a sign reading "Greenland, US Territory, Est. 2026," with JD Vance and Marco Rubio standing behind him like the world’s saddest cosplay of manifest destiny. Former EU ambassador Gordon Sondland helpfully explains that Trump’s goals are "laudable"—militarize the Arctic, hoard rare-earth minerals, and "box out" Russia and China—he’s just "rough around the edges" and bad at explaining it. In other words: the plan is imperialism, but the branding is sloppy. And because the grift is never optional, Trump is also rolling out his "Board of Peace"—a $1 billion buy-in club that looks suspiciously like a paywalled replacement for the U.N., complete with invitations to Vladimir Putin and assorted authoritarians. Democratic leaders like Macron are politely declining, preferring that conflict resolution not require a cover charge. But sure, threaten to annex Greenland, destabilize NATO, start a trade war with Europe, and build a billionaire peace club with Putin on the guest list—what could possibly go wrong.
nbcnews.comSource ArticleAlso: npr.orgAlso: npr.org
#imperialism#killing-democracy#forever-grifting
imperialism

treasury genius declares entire nato ally ‘irrelevant’ to defend greenland land‑grab

Scott Bessent explains that Denmark is irrelevant, NATO is optional, and Greenland is basically a Black Friday doorbuster for empires.

Scott Bessent explains that Denmark is irrelevant, NATO is optional, and Greenland is basically a Black Friday doorbuster for empires.

Trump’s treasury secretary Scott Bessent has discovered a bold new diplomatic doctrine: if a NATO ally objects to your plan to annex part of their kingdom, just declare them irrelevant and threaten their neighbors with tariffs. At Davos, Bessent brushed off Denmark’s role in the US debt market as trivial, then used that as an excuse to wave away Danish objections to Trump’s Greenland takeover fantasy. Because nothing says respect for the rules-based order like trying to bully a small democracy out of its territory while calling them economically meaningless. As Europe talks about the rule of law over brutality and promises an “unflinching response” to Trump’s tariff threats on eight countries opposing his Arctic land seizure, Bessent calls their statements “inflammatory” and scolds Emmanuel Macron for not minding his own collapsing budget. In other words: Washington is openly mulling economic punishment of allies for not backing an imperial land grab, then accusing them of overreacting. Bessent also begged Davos elites not to show “reflexive anger” and instead wait patiently for Trump to arrive three hours late and explain why the US should own Greenland, confidently predicting everyone will be “persuaded.” Meanwhile, he saved his pettiest bile for California governor Gavin Newsom, calling him “Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken” and ranting that Newsom is too “smug” and “economically illiterate” to understand anything. The guy fronting a 21st-century annexation scheme at a billionaire ski conference accusing others of hobnobbing with the global elite is… a choice. So to recap: the US is trying to strong-arm Europe into accepting a territorial grab, dismissing a key NATO ally as disposable, dangling tariffs as punishment for disobedience, and screeching about “fake news” when banks point out this might have consequences. But sure, tell us more about how everyone else is the bully.
theguardian.comSource ArticleAlso: bbc.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

imperialism

trump’s caribbean oil pirate adventure enters sequel territory

US warship enforces Trump’s new foreign policy doctrine: if it floats and carries oil, it’s now under new management.

US warship enforces Trump’s new foreign policy doctrine: if it floats and carries oil, it’s now under new management.

The Trump administration has now seized its seventh Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the Caribbean, because nothing says "rules-based international order" like parking a mini-fleet off someone else’s coastline and jacking their ships. U.S. Southern Command bragged about apprehending the Motor Vessel Sagitta "without incident," as if the incident isn’t the part where the president unilaterally declares a "quarantine" on other countries’ oil and the Navy plays hall monitor for Exxon’s vision board. This all comes in the middle of Trump’s month-long campaign to "control" Venezuela’s oil flows, which, in normal English, translates to: we’re taking your stuff and calling it freedom. After Trump’s attempt at diplomacy failed (shocking), he just ordered U.S. forces to fly into a sovereign country, kidnap its president and his wife in an overnight raid, and drag them to New York. Because if there’s one thing this administration hates, it’s other people violating borders. Now Trump is openly promising that the U.S. will control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely, while pitching a $100bn "rebuild" plan that has environmentalists and even U.S. oil giants side-eyeing it like a three-card monte table. In other words, it’s Iraq-but-dumber: a half-baked occupation-lite, dressed up as humanitarian reconstruction, enforced by warships, and justified by saying only "properly and lawfully coordinated" oil gets to leave Venezuela — which conveniently means "approved by Trump and his donors." But sure, tell us again how this is all about democracy and not just a smash-and-grab resource heist in broad daylight.
theguardian.comSource ArticleAlso: nbcnews.comAlso: npr.org
#imperialism#killing-democracy

Monday, January 19, 2026

imperialism

manifest destiny but make it ice

Trump stares at a map and decides the problem with U.S. foreign policy is not enough real estate acquisitions.

Trump stares at a map and decides the problem with U.S. foreign policy is not enough real estate acquisitions.

Donald Trump is once again threatening to "take over" Greenland, because nothing says "serious global power" like a twice-impeached, multiply-indicted ex-president fantasizing about buying other countries' territory like it’s a foreclosure auction in Atlantic City. A former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark now says these little annexation daydreams are causing "extreme anxiety" in the region—apparently people get nervous when a guy who tried to overthrow his own government starts talking about acquiring more land. The Greenland stunt is Trumpism in miniature: imperial ambitions, zero homework, and total disregard for the people who actually live there. Instead of treating Greenland and Denmark as allies, he treats them like reluctant timeshare prospects, while his surrogates go on TV to explain that Greenland "can only be defended if it is part of the U.S."—in other words, the same old great-power logic that’s gone so well for, checks notes, every colonial power in history. Layer this on top of the same news cycle featuring Trump’s DOJ being defended for poking at Fed independence and the Pentagon prepping troops for possible deployment to Minnesota, and you get the full picture: Trump’s America is a place where the president toys with domestic military deployments, menaces allies, and flirts with land grabs—but sure, tell us again how he’s the one restoring law, order, and respect on the world stage.
nbcnews.comSource ArticleAlso: bbc.comAlso: theguardian.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy#full-stupid
imperialism

trump invents a new un to manage gaza, forgets to invite palestinians

Artist’s impression of Trump’s Gaza ‘Board of Peace’: a conference table made of rubble, a golden statue in the middle, and not a single Palestinian within 100 miles.

Artist’s impression of Trump’s Gaza ‘Board of Peace’: a conference table made of rubble, a golden statue in the middle, and not a single Palestinian within 100 miles.

Donald Trump has unveiled his "Board of Peace" for Gaza, which is a bit like calling a casino a church. Not a single Palestinian gets a seat, but Trump will sit as chair "in an individual capacity" — in other words, he’s decided to be Emperor of Gaza on his own time. The guest list reads like a war-crimes alumni newsletter: Tony Blair (Iraq’s reconstruction expert, according to no one), Viktor Orbán, Vladimir Putin, Jared Kushner the aspiring Gaza waterfront realtor, an Israeli billionaire, and a US private equity ghoul. Because nothing says "peace" like a table full of oligarchs, ethno-nationalists, and guys who think bombed-out cities are just "undervalued assets". The draft charter doesn’t even mention Gaza, which is a nice touch for the thing allegedly set up to "govern" Gaza. Instead, it looks like a prototype for an alternative to the UN — a private, Trump-branded global power tool where he reportedly controls the billions that countries must pony up for permanent membership. So it’s neocolonialism-as-subscription-service: pay $1bn to sit at the table while Trump and his developer friends turn a genocidally devastated strip of land into a luxury resort with a giant golden statue of himself, and maybe "relocate" the surviving Palestinians somewhere more convenient. It’s not peace, it’s a pilot project for a new world order where foreign policy is just another Trump property play.
theguardian.comSource ArticleAlso: theguardian.com
#imperialism#forever-grifting
imperialism

trump discovers foreign policy is just yelling 'new leadership' on tv

Live look at another country bracing for the consequences of whatever Donald Trump blurts out before his second coffee.

Live look at another country bracing for the consequences of whatever Donald Trump blurts out before his second coffee.

Iran is out here warning the U.S. not to launch a strike, while Donald Trump is on TV calling for “new leadership” in Tehran like he’s recasting a reality show instead of talking about a sovereign country with missiles and millions of people living in it. Because nothing says ‘serious statesman’ like treating regime change as a segment between weather and the cooking demo. Trump’s line is the same tired Washington script: hint at just enough military action to look “tough,” then wrap it in the noble language of helping the Iranian people, as if U.S. bombs have ever been a reliable democracy-delivery system. In other words: we’re back to the ‘what if we tried war again, but this time for freedom?’ school of foreign policy. Meanwhile, Iran is explicitly warning against a strike, which in a functional democracy would trigger a sober debate in Congress about war powers and authorization. Instead we get Trump freelancing regime-change rhetoric on morning TV, normalizing the idea that one guy’s ego and a news hit are all it takes to move the country one step closer to another Middle East disaster. But sure, tell us more about how this is all about ‘new leadership’ and not the same old imperial cosplay we’ve seen for decades.
today.comSource ArticleAlso: nbcnews.comAlso: nbcnews.com
#imperialism#national-security#killing-democracy

Sunday, January 18, 2026

imperialism

trump accidentally invents canadian nationalism

Mark Carney walks beside Donald Trump, slightly out of focus—symbolizing Canada’s new foreign policy of pretending the neighbor from hell is just background noise.

Mark Carney walks beside Donald Trump, slightly out of focus—symbolizing Canada’s new foreign policy of pretending the neighbor from hell is just background noise.

Donald Trump has managed to do what a century of Canadian history classes could not: make Canadians genuinely patriotic. After returning to office, he slapped tariffs on key Canadian sectors, joked about Canada as "the 51st state," and followed it up with enough erratic foreign-policy chest thumping that a third of Canadians now think the US might one day take "direct action" to control their country. Because nothing says "stable ally" like your northern neighbor quietly workshopping invasion scenarios in poll questions. Canadians have responded in the most polite way possible: by stopping coming to America and taking their money elsewhere. Trips south are down over 25%, US tourism is out billions, and California is now reduced to running "please come back" ads like a clingy ex. Meanwhile, US liquor is getting yanked off shelves, imports of American booze are collapsing, and Mexico just leapfrogged the US as a car supplier. In other words, Trump’s "America First" strategy is doing wonders—for Canadian tourism, Mexican automakers, and every politician north of the border who can spell "sovereignty." On the political front, Trump even rewrote Canada’s federal election script. The Canadian Liberals were headed for the dumpster with Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives cruising to victory, until Trump’s second-term chaos and tariff tantrums helped panic Canadians into rallying around Mark Carney—the technocrat who sold himself as the guy who could actually stand up to the orange hurricane next door. Trump’s big win? Turning America into a perceived "enemy or potential threat" for nearly half of Canadians and supercharging a "Buy Canadian" defense and procurement push that explicitly shifts away from US suppliers. But sure, tell us more about how this is all 12-dimensional trade genius.
bbc.comSource ArticleAlso: nbcnews.comAlso: nbcnews.com
#imperialism#trade-war

Saturday, January 17, 2026

imperialism

stable genius calls for new iranian government, what could go wrong

Trump, fresh off trying regime change in his own country, thoughtfully workshopping regime change in someone else’s.

Trump, fresh off trying regime change in his own country, thoughtfully workshopping regime change in someone else’s.

Donald Trump has announced that it’s time for “new leadership in Iran,” because nothing says respect for sovereignty like the guy who tried to overturn his own election casually calling for regime change in another country. In an interview with Politico, Trump declared that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “a sick man” and that Iran is “the worst place to live anywhere in the world” — a bold statement from the man who keeps trying to turn the U.S. into Florida with nukes. While Khamenei accuses Trump of encouraging “agitators,” Trump has been busy telling Iranians to “take over institutions” and promising that “help is on its way,” which is definitely not ominous language when the Pentagon is simultaneously preparing to send a carrier strike group, additional aircraft, and land-based air defense systems to the region. In other words, we’ve reached the “spontaneous grassroots freedom uprising, coincidentally backed by a massive U.S. military build-up” portion of the program. Thousands of protesters have already been killed — at least 3,090 dead and over 22,000 arrested, according to HRANA — but Trump briefly tried on his “human rights guy” costume by saying he “greatly” respects that “over 800” scheduled hangings were allegedly canceled by Iran’s leadership. The White House could not provide any source for that number, but why let facts get in the way of a good self-congratulatory fantasy? Meanwhile, the U.S. is evacuating key personnel from its largest Middle East base as Trump “weighs potential military action,” because nothing calms a brutal crackdown like dangling the prospect of another American war in the region. So to recap: an authoritarian U.S. president who tried to cling to power at home is now cheerleading institutional takeovers abroad, musing about regime change, and parking a carrier strike group off Iran’s metaphorical lawn. But sure, this is all about freedom and human rights, and definitely not about another round of made-for-TV geopolitics starring Donald J. Trump.
nbcnews.comSource ArticleAlso: theguardian.comAlso: theguardian.com
#imperialism#national-security

Friday, January 16, 2026

imperialism

trump names jared, rubio & tony blair to run gaza, what could go wrong

Trump, Jared, Rubio, and Tony Blair posing as a 'board of peace' like a particularly cursed WeWork leadership team for occupied territory.

Trump, Jared, Rubio, and Tony Blair posing as a 'board of peace' like a particularly cursed WeWork leadership team for occupied territory.

The White House has announced a shiny new colonial cosplay project: a "board of peace" to oversee the reconstruction and transitional administration of Gaza. Chairing this enlightened exercise in 21st-century imperialism? Donald Trump himself, naturally. Joining him on this freedom-scented venture are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, failed Iraq peace enthusiast and former UK prime minister Tony Blair, and, because this is still the Trump Show, son-in-law-for-life Jared Kushner. According to the statement, the US will manage this "transitional framework" in "close partnership" with Israel and "key Arab nations"—you know, all the people who aren’t actually Gazans. They did toss in Ali Sha’ath, a former Palestinian Authority official, to head the wonderfully titled National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), so they can say there’s a local involved while the real power sits in Washington, Tel Aviv, and whatever private jet Jared is on. In other words: Palestinians get the committee, Trump gets the board. To really drive home that this is about control, not peace, Trump also tapped Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum as senior advisers to run "day-to-day strategy and operations"—because nothing says self-determination like a US-appointed management team handling your daily life. The whole thing is marketed as reconstruction and stability, but looks a lot more like a test run for a franchise model of occupation: "Gaza™ — Now Under New Management, No Democracy Required."
theguardian.comSource ArticleAlso: theguardian.comAlso: theguardian.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy

Thursday, January 15, 2026

imperialism

trump turns iran into his personal cliffhanger episode

President Trump, wearing a "USA" hat like a discount war merch drop, explains that his Iran strategy is based on "very important sources" and the ancient doctrine of Keeping Everyone Freaked Out All The Time.

President Trump, wearing a "USA" hat like a discount war merch drop, explains that his Iran strategy is based on "very important sources" and the ancient doctrine of Keeping Everyone Freaked Out All The Time.

Donald Trump has spent two weeks dangling the prospect of bombing Iran like it's a mid-season finale on a bad reality show. He threatens "very strong action" if Tehran executes protesters, moves personnel out of the Al-Udeid air base, tells US civilians in Saudi Arabia to be "vigilant," and lets airspace closures and cancelled flights crank global anxiety to eleven—because nothing says responsible superpower like live‑action nuclear brinkmanship for ratings. Then, mid-afternoon, he strolls out and announces that the "killing in Iran is stopping" and there are "no plans for executions," because unnamed "very important sources on the other side" pinky‑swore it. No evidence, no transparency, just vibes and whatever flattery made it through to the Oval Office. Allies in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman are openly terrified that his next mood swing could set the region on fire, while members of Congress warn that "helping" protesters with airstrikes mostly means killing them and proving the Iranian regime’s propaganda right. Fresh off a "successful" regime-change adventure in Venezuela, Trump is clearly tempted to run the same play on a much bigger, battle-hardened target, openly fantasizing about "winning" against Iran while everyone who can read a map begs him to sit down. Even his own former officials admit that what really appeals to him are "evocative news stories," "raw power," and "minimal casualties"—in other words, maximum spectacle, minimum thought. The actual Iranians on the streets? Just extras in the president’s latest foreign-policy cliffhanger.
bbc.comSource ArticleAlso: nbcnews.com
#imperialism#national-security#killing-democracy
imperialism

trump picks ambassador to iceland, accidentally auditions for colonial viceroy

Trump’s would-be ambassador to Iceland, seen here workshopping punchlines from the State Department’s new book, "101 Jokes About Annexing Your Allies."

Trump’s would-be ambassador to Iceland, seen here workshopping punchlines from the State Department’s new book, "101 Jokes About Annexing Your Allies."

Donald Trump’s ambassador-designate to Iceland, former Rep. Billy Long, decided the best way to introduce himself to a small, sovereign NATO ally was to joke on the House floor that Iceland would become the US’s "52nd state" and he’d be its governor — because nothing says diplomacy like casually LARPing as a colonial administrator. Politico reported the comments just as US officials were meeting Greenland and Denmark to convince them that Trump threatening to seize another Arctic island is totally normal and not at all a cartoon villain plot. Reykjavík, shockingly, did not find "lol you’re ours now" hilarious. Iceland’s foreign ministry formally contacted the US embassy to ask if Trump’s guy really said the quiet imperialism out loud, while thousands of Icelanders signed a petition telling their government to reject Long’s nomination and maybe get someone who doesn’t think their country is a theme park expansion pack. Long then issued the classic Washington non-apology — it was all a joke, he was just with some buddies, nothing serious, if anyone was offended, etc. In other words: "We were only spitballing annexations, why are you so sensitive?" Icelandic MP Sigmar Guðmundsson gently noted that maybe, given the live crisis over Trump’s Greenland land-grab fantasies, joking about Iceland as State #52 isn’t, quote, "particularly funny" — and that it’s a pretty clear sign of growing US disrespect toward small states’ sovereignty. But sure, we’re told this is all harmless banter and not part of a pattern where Trump and his orbit treat allied democracies as future real estate acquisitions or military outposts on layaway. Just NATO things.
theguardian.comSource Article
#imperialism#killing-democracy
imperialism

trump invents the department of war, starts piracy franchise in caribbean

US sailors rappel onto a foreign tanker to enforce Trump’s sanctions, proving that when you say “Department of War” out loud, you really mean it.

US sailors rappel onto a foreign tanker to enforce Trump’s sanctions, proving that when you say “Department of War” out loud, you really mean it.

The US military, now proudly branding itself as the Department of War like it’s 1898 again, has seized yet another foreign-flagged oil tanker in the Caribbean to enforce Donald Trump’s personal embargo on Venezuela. Marines launched from the USS Gerald R Ford to board the Veronica, a Guyanese-flagged crude tanker accused of defying Trump’s self-declared “quarantine” of sanctioned vessels — because nothing says rules-based international order like helicopter raids on commercial shipping to protect a sanctions regime built on a presidential grudge.

This is the sixth known seizure of a foreign-flagged tanker since Trump had Nicolás Maduro snatched in Caracas and hauled to the US, and Southern Command is bragging about it on social media like it’s a Call of Duty trailer. The administration is openly “controlling the distribution” of Venezuela’s oil worldwide, which in normal human language is called using the US Navy as an armed cartel enforcement wing. But sure, it’s all about stopping “illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere,” not about running regime change and resource control at gunpoint.

In other words, Trump overthrows a foreign leader, rebrands the Pentagon like a Marvel supervillain agency, and starts interdicting commercial shipping on the high seas — and we’re all supposed to pretend this is just sanctions policy, not a live-fire seminar in how to turn a fading superpower into a full-time petro-pirate state.

theguardian.comSource ArticleAlso: theguardian.comAlso: theguardian.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy
imperialism

manifest destiny but make it mars and greenland

Trump stares at a map of Greenland like a toddler eyeing someone else’s toy and calls it foreign policy.

Trump stares at a map of Greenland like a toddler eyeing someone else’s toy and calls it foreign policy.

Donald Trump has decided that international law is for losers, declaring "I don’t need international law" and basically upgrading himself from president to new king emperor of the Western hemisphere. It’s the Donroe Doctrine: the hemisphere is his personal strip mall, available for looting by him and his loyal courtiers, because nothing says "rule of law" like announcing you’re above it.

Mira Kamdar, whose family history runs through Danish colonialism, British empire, and American "we’re totally the good guys" mythology, watches Trump resurrect imperialism with the subtlety of a wrecking ball. Her 95‑year‑old Indian father, a naturalized American who helped put a man on the moon, now fears ICE will roll into his care home and deport him from his wheelchair—because under Trump’s white‑supremacist manifest destiny, being brown is probable cause. Meanwhile, Greenland—already scarred by Danish colonial projects like forced sterilizations and child removals—gets to look forward to the day when US ICE units, finally on brand, show up in the Arctic to "protect" native people the way America always has.

Denmark’s own imperial past and its present "ghetto law" targeting dark‑skinned immigrants blend seamlessly into Trump’s vision: break the law to get rid of the wrong kind of people, then call it security. In other words, the old European empires are now the warm‑up act for Trump’s neo‑imperial cosplay, where the US trades in democracy talk for open plunder and racial hierarchy—and Europe’s far right is lining up to import the model. But sure, tell us again how this is all about sovereignty and not a reheated colonial project with worse branding.
theguardian.comSource ArticleAlso: theguardian.comAlso: theguardian.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy