The Trump Presidency Timeline
Documenting the chaos since day one. 191 entries and counting.
Category: imperialism
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.
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.
Source: nbcnews.com
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#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.
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.
Source: 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.
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.
Source: today.com
#imperialism#national-security#killing-democracy
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.
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.
#imperialism#trade-war
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.
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.
Source: nbcnews.com
#imperialism#national-security
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.
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."
Source: theguardian.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy
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.
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.
Source: bbc.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."
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.
Source: theguardian.com
#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.
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.
Source: 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.
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.
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.
Source: theguardian.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy
imperialism
trump to be personally briefed on who runs venezuela, because elections are for losers
NBC chyron: Venezuela in crisis, Trump considering who gets to be president there while daydreaming about annexing Greenland, because maps are just vision boards now.
In the latest episode of "Who Wants to Be a President?" the Venezuela edition, House Republican María Elvira Salazar confidently announces that opposition leader María Corina Machado will personally "explain" to Donald Trump that she is the leader of Venezuela. Because nothing says "respect for sovereignty" like needing to pitch your country's leadership to a U.S. ex-president as if you're auditioning for a cabinet role at Mar-a-Lago.
This little diplomatic cosplay is happening while the NBC chyron cheerfully reminds us that Trump is busy renewing his vow to annex Greenland and the Pentagon is dusting off plans on Iran. In other words, we’ve fully moved from "America First" to "America Decides Who Runs Your Country and Maybe Buys an Island on the Side." It's not foreign policy, it’s a hostile takeover spree with nukes.
The underlying message is simple: Venezuelans can risk their lives, organize, and vote, but Trump’s blessing is treated like the real certification of who counts as a leader. Democratic legitimacy? Cute. What really matters is who can get a meeting at Trump’s favorite TV studio disguised as a country. But sure, tell us again how this is about freedom and not about Washington—and specifically Trump—playing imperial casting director for the hemisphere.
Source: nbcnews.com
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#imperialism#killing-democracy
imperialism
congress begs arsonist-in-chief to fix the fire he helped start
Marco Rubio and friends asking Donald Trump to safeguard digital freedom in Iran, like asking a pyromaniac to run the fire department because he’s got ‘experience with flames.’
In a heartwarming display of bipartisan delusion, a group of House members is politely asking Donald Trump to restore internet access in Iran—the same Iran where protests exploded after the US president ordered the bombing of three nuclear installations and helped usher in a wave of state killings. Because nothing says defending human rights like first escalating a regional war, then swooping in to offer VPNs as a consolation prize.
Democrats and Republicans alike want Trump to let the State Department team up again with the Open Technology Fund to help Iranians bypass regime censorship, effectively fast‑tracking a not-yet-passed bill, the very on-brand “Freedom Act”. They openly admit they’d like to skip that pesky legislative process and just have the executive branch improvise its own foreign cyber-ops policy—because if there’s one thing this administration has proven, it’s that nothing can possibly go wrong when Trump is given more unilateral power over shadowy tech tools abroad.
Meanwhile, human rights groups say around 2,500 people have already been killed in the crackdown, with some estimates hitting 12,000, and executions in Iran surged in 2025 after Trump’s 12-day war with Israel and those US-ordered bombings. Trump, for his part, has promised that “help is on its way” and threatened “very strong action” if Tehran executes protesters—this from the guy whose foreign policy strategy is basically sanctions, airstrikes, and Fox News hits. In other words: the guy who helped pour gasoline all over the region is now being begged to ship in fire extinguishers he’ll probably aim at the cameras instead of the flames.
Source: theguardian.com
#imperialism#national-security#killing-democracy
imperialism
trump shakes region, calls it 'very strong action'
Al-Udeid Air Base: America’s favorite forward-operating plot device for every president who wakes up and decides the Middle East needs a little more freedom and a lot more missiles.
Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar is getting a little less crowded, as the US and UK quietly pull some personnel out while Donald Trump does his usual "maybe I'll start a war, maybe I won't" routine over Iran's brutal crackdown on protesters. Officials are calling it a "precautionary measure" because nothing says totally normal, not-escalating-at-all foreign policy like shuffling troops around the Gulf while the president posts threats on Truth Social.
Trump is vowing "very strong action" if Iran executes protesters, while Iran calmly replies that it will, you know, hit US and Israeli bases and shipping if attacked. Reuters notes there's no repeat (yet) of last year's frantic bussing of troops out of the base before an Iranian strike, but the US embassy in Saudi Arabia is already telling people to limit travel to military installations—always a comforting sign when your own government starts acting like its bases are about to become target practice.
Meanwhile, rights groups say more than 2,400 protesters have been killed and over 18,000 arrested in Iran, which Trump is using as a handy rhetorical prop while bragging that Iranian leaders "want to negotiate" but the US "may have to act before a meeting." In other words: Washington is once again workshopping regime-change vibes in public, Tehran is promising retaliation in public, and everyone else in the region gets to sit next to the powder keg while Trump plays tough-guy on social media.
Source: bbc.com
#imperialism#national-security
imperialism
annexing greenland to own the libs
Trump staring at a map of Greenland like it’s a foreclosure he can flip, while JD Vance helpfully labels it “freedom minerals.”
Trump has apparently decided that if you can’t run the United States competently, you might as well try conquering Greenland. He’s announced the US will seize the island “one way or the other,” because nothing says "defending freedom" like threatening to invade a NATO ally’s territory for its mineral rights and a couple of billionaire techno-playgrounds. Meanwhile, JD Vance is doing his best cosplay of a serious statesman while Europe debates whether maybe, just maybe, it’s time to stop pretending this is all a normal policy disagreement and not literal imperial predation.
The Trump crew isn’t even bothering with subtlety. The white supremacist brain trust is pumping out government-branded slogans like “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage” — a totally original idea that definitely doesn’t sound like it was ripped straight from the "Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer" starter kit. The grifters and techno-nihilists are drooling over the prospect of neofeudal city-states on Greenland’s coast, because what’s the point of collapsing American democracy if you don’t get a private petro-feudalist sandbox out of it? Trump helpfully clarifies that the only check on his power is “my own morality,” which, translated from Trumpese, means no check at all.
Behind the cosplay geopolitics is a very real MAGA empire fantasy. The movement’s been circulating maps based on a 1930s "Technate of America" scheme: a US-dominated super-state running from Greenland down through Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela and all the way to French Guiana — inconveniently still part of France and thus a speed bump for the new "Donroe Doctrine." While Trump, Vance, and Steve Bannon work to bankroll far-right, anti-EU parties to blow up the EU from within (Putin sends his regards), Europe is being told, again, to keep calm and hope the next coup attempt is less organized.
The article’s basic argument: if Trump’s America is going full imperial fascism, Europe needs to stop acting like it’s 2013 and start acting like it’s 1938. That means kicking US military bases out, sanctioning US officials, walling off US tech oligarchs, expanding the carbon border tax, building up its own defense and intelligence union, and funding public media as information armor. In other words: cut the cord before Washington finishes turning itself into an openly hostile neo-authoritarian empire. But sure, let’s keep calling it a "special relationship" while Trump tries to annex Greenland like it’s a golf course with better lithium.
Source: theguardian.com
#imperialism#fascism
imperialism
america first, venezuelans last, trump always
Tammy Duckworth patiently explaining that ‘America First’ doesn’t usually involve random Venezuela side quests for a bored wannabe strongman.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth went on TV to say the quiet part out loud: Trump’s saber-rattling and meddling in Venezuela makes his whole “America First” routine look like what it’s always been — basically bs. Because nothing says defending American workers like using a foreign crisis as a stage for cheap strongman cosplay and oil-adjacent geopolitics.
While Trump world keeps insisting this is all about “freedom” and “democracy,” Duckworth points out the obvious: if this were really about putting Americans first, maybe the administration wouldn’t be so eager to lurch into another Latin American adventure with zero coherent strategy and a whole lot of chest-thumping. In other words, it looks less like principled foreign policy and more like the usual Trump blend of distraction, ego, and made-for-Fox News imperialism.
So we get the worst of both worlds: a president who screams about endless wars while flirting with regime change, claims to hate globalism while playing Great Power games, and pretends to care about stability while lighting matches in a powder keg. But sure, tell us again how this is all about protecting the American people and not about Trump needing a new crisis to yell about on Truth Social.
Source: nbcnews.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy
imperialism
john bolton dusted off for sequel: 'bomb iran, but make it freedom'
John Bolton, patiently explaining that this time when we light the Middle East on fire, it will definitely work out great.
NPR decided that what the world really needed in 2026 was a fresh dose of John Bolton, the mustachioed spirit animal of every half-baked regime-change fantasy since 2003. So Rob Schmitz politely asks America's favorite war hobbyist how Trump might act on Iran as protests unfold — because nothing says “let’s support democratic movements” like calling the guy whose foreign policy Mad Libs always end in airstrikes.
Instead of talking to, say, Iranian protesters, human rights lawyers, or anyone who doesn’t list "invade a Middle Eastern country" under hobbies, we get Bolton explaining Trump’s likely moves as if this is all just an exciting strategic puzzle and not the same playbook that has repeatedly turned real countries into smoking craters. In other words: brave people in Iran risk their lives for basic rights, and Washington’s answer is to bring back the guy who sees every uprising as a branding opportunity for regime change: the expanded universe.
The subtext, as always: Trump gets a foreign crisis he can spin into macho posturing, Bolton gets another shot at his lifelong dream of bombing Tehran, and the U.S. political/media class gets to pretend this is a serious policy conversation instead of a rerun of the same disastrous interventionist fantasies that helped wreck the region in the first place. But sure, let’s call it "how Trump may act on Iran" and not "how the same guys who were wrong about everything want another swing at history."
Source: npr.org
#imperialism#national-security
imperialism
trump crowdsources the timing of his next iran war
Trump’s national security ‘brain trust’ prepares to liberate Iranians by bombing them, again, but this time with more focus-grouped timing.
The Trump White House is apparently running foreign policy like a group chat, with Israeli and Arab officials quietly advising him to wait on the big Iran strikes until the regime is a little more wobbly—because nothing says commitment to human rights like treating a bloody crackdown as a market timing problem. The concern isn’t whether launching another U.S. war is legal, moral, or remotely sane, but whether the bombs would be decisive enough to finish off the government.
Trump, meanwhile, is on social media telling Iranian protesters to “KEEP PROTESTING — TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS” and promising “HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” as if regime change is an Amazon Prime delivery. While the regime guns people down and shuts off the internet, the geniuses in Washington and Jerusalem kick around fun options like tighter sanctions, cyberattacks, boosting comms to destabilize the government, and even “very targeted” hits on specific Iranian leaders—assassinations, but make it focus-grouped.
The White House insists “all options are at President Trump’s disposal,” which is a polite way of saying there’s no meaningful congressional debate, no public discussion, and certainly no legal constraint on anything from airstrikes to covert ops. Even regional allies are warning that U.S. or Israeli attacks could backfire and unite Iranians, but Trump’s response is to threaten to hit Iran “at levels that they’ve never been hit before.” In other words: the Middle East is begging Washington not to light another match, and Trump is bragging about how big his flamethrower is.
Source: nbcnews.com
#imperialism#national-security#killing-democracy
imperialism
trump eyes greenland like it’s a foreclosure sale
Artist’s impression of Trump staring at a map of the Arctic like it’s Zillow for aspiring autocrats.
Donald Trump is once again looking at Greenland the way he looks at a golf course that hasn’t yet been strip‑mined for branding opportunities. In the brave new world of post‑post‑cold war geopolitics, the former guy’s big idea is basically: what if Manifest Destiny, but colder? From Venezuela to the Arctic, Trump’s instinct is the same old might makes real-estate politics—because nothing says 21st‑century diplomacy like treating an inhabited island as a distressed asset.
Europe, meanwhile, is sitting around writing strategy papers about the Arctic while Washington is out here doing full‑blown Risk LARP. The EU has three Arctic member states, a massive economic footprint, and a supposedly rules‑based identity—so naturally its response to Trump’s Greenland fixation has been a bold, coordinated … awkward silence and a few useless social‑media posts. Ursula von der Leyen managed to give an entire State of the Union without mentioning the Arctic once, which is a choice when the United States is openly spitballing territorial acquisition.
The authors suggest a radical concept: instead of waiting for Trump to show up with a checkbook and a MAGA icebreaker, the EU could actually do politics. As in: offer Greenland, the Faroes, Iceland and Norway a pathway into the EU, with phased membership, fisheries deals, infrastructure money, and explicit protections for Inuit culture and self‑government. In other words, use law, institutions and investment to counter Trump’s ‘how much for the big icy one?’ energy.
So while Trump dreams of buying Greenland like it’s a failing casino he can slap his name on, Europe is being gently begged to stop cosplaying a ‘normative power’ and start acting like one. Either the Arctic becomes a space for multilateral coordination, or it becomes another stage for Trump’s grab‑bag geopolitics—because if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that he will absolutely try to sign a deed for an entire island and call it a historic win.
Source: theguardian.com
#imperialism#killing-democracy
imperialism
oil coup: trump threatens to ban exxon from the country he just stole
Donald Trump on Air Force One, explaining that Venezuela’s oil companies now report directly to Washington, because nothing says sovereignty like having your natural resources rerouted through the US Treasury.
Donald Trump, having just conducted a “brazen overnight raid” to snatch Nicolás Maduro out of Venezuela, is now mad that ExxonMobil’s CEO Darren Woods called the country “uninvestable.” So, naturally, Trump’s response is to threaten to ban Exxon from investing in the very oil playground he just helped seize. Because nothing says “free market capitalism” like a president personally deciding which oil giants are allowed to profit off a country whose leader he just removed at gunpoint.
In a meeting with at least 17 oil executives, Woods pointed out that Exxon has had its assets seized in Venezuela twice and might like some actual legal protections before going back for round three. Trump’s takeaway? Not that maybe regime-change-by-raid is a bad investment climate, but that Exxon is “playing too cute” and should probably be kept out of the spoils. In other words, if you’re not sufficiently enthusiastic about the new colonial management, you don’t get a slice of the colony.
Trump also helpfully clarified that oil companies would now be “dealing with us directly. You’re not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela.” Subtle. Meanwhile, he signed an executive order shielding Venezuelan oil revenues parked in US Treasury accounts from courts and creditors—because when you’ve just toppled a government and are divvying up its natural resources, the last thing you need is the rule of law getting in the way.
So to recap: US forces remove a foreign president, Trump installs himself as the gatekeeper of that country’s oil industry, and then threatens to punish one of the world’s biggest oil companies for not being bullish enough on the new arrangement. But sure, tell us more about how this is all about “democracy” and not a live-action tutorial in 21st-century imperial looting.
In a meeting with at least 17 oil executives, Woods pointed out that Exxon has had its assets seized in Venezuela twice and might like some actual legal protections before going back for round three. Trump’s takeaway? Not that maybe regime-change-by-raid is a bad investment climate, but that Exxon is “playing too cute” and should probably be kept out of the spoils. In other words, if you’re not sufficiently enthusiastic about the new colonial management, you don’t get a slice of the colony.
Trump also helpfully clarified that oil companies would now be “dealing with us directly. You’re not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela.” Subtle. Meanwhile, he signed an executive order shielding Venezuelan oil revenues parked in US Treasury accounts from courts and creditors—because when you’ve just toppled a government and are divvying up its natural resources, the last thing you need is the rule of law getting in the way.
So to recap: US forces remove a foreign president, Trump installs himself as the gatekeeper of that country’s oil industry, and then threatens to punish one of the world’s biggest oil companies for not being bullish enough on the new arrangement. But sure, tell us more about how this is all about “democracy” and not a live-action tutorial in 21st-century imperial looting.
Source: theguardian.com
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#imperialism#corruption
imperialism
trump considers bombing his way to human rights
Trump, thoughtfully posing in front of military imagery, bravely considering which part of the Middle East to set on fire this time for freedom.
Trump is reportedly "weighing military options" in Iran as that government ramps up a brutal crackdown, because nothing says support for democracy like threatening to drop bombs on a country already on fire. The same guy who gushed over dictators, tried to overturn his own election, and tear-gassed peaceful protesters for a photo-op now wants you to believe he's deeply concerned about human rights in Tehran.
In other words, it's the standard Trump foreign policy package: maximum chest-thumping, minimum strategy, and absolutely no concern for Congress's war powers, international law, or the people who'd actually die. The administration is floating "options" on TV while allies scramble, the Pentagon pretends this is normal, and the White House shops for the best cable-news angle. Because if there's one lesson from the last two decades of US intervention, it's clearly that we haven't started enough wars yet.
So here we are again: a president who couldn't pass a basic civics test casually playing with escalation in the Middle East like it's a Truth Social engagement hack. No authorization, no coherent policy, just vibes, grievances, and the eternal belief that a good military showdown can fix the polls. But sure, tell us more about how this is all about "supporting the Iranian people" and not about another would-be strongman using other people's lives as props.
Source: nbcnews.com
#imperialism#national-security#killing-democracy