TRUMP'S DANGEROUS BLUSTER

Baby Trump is having temper tantrums about Greenland and Panama. He won't invade either place.

He may get some minor concessions on mining rights or more US troops in Greenland --which we can do through negotiations NOW -- and claim some "magnificent victory." The breast-beating is all for show.

If he actually invaded Panama or went to war with Denmark over Greenland (violating NATO's Article 5), he'd be toast. Not to mention it would give China a green light to invade Taiwan.

This childish posturing -- plus the brazen lies he told at the Davos economic forum this week -- just cheapens the United States abroad. Yes, world leaders MUST deal with him because he is in power. But Trump's is a dangerous game. The havoc he might unleash could plunge the world into unfathomable economic and geopolitical crises.

Will he slap 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico on February 1? If he DOES, those countries will fall into recession and their retaliation will flatten the U.S. economy. If he DOES NOT, what was all the bluster about? To force them into what concessions? Again, he'll make up some "incredible victory" he achieved, but that will be all BS, all red meat for MAGA.

Trump fans laud his bullying and bravado. But that is exactly what can lead us to ruin in a world that demands serious and critical thinking.

His tariff and massive deportation talk is already pushing Latin American countries away from us and toward China.

Make no mistake, Trump is doing serious damage at home. His actions will make the rich richer while Republicans cut Medicare, Medicaid, and other essential lifelines for 90% of Americans.

The ravages of climate change (costing us trillions) will worsen because of his fossil fuel mania -- while he shuns WIND AND SOLAR.

The rule of law is already obliterated, and he will seek to turn civil servants, the courts, and the press into his personal goon squads.

True patriots will fight this diminution of our democratic values at every turn. We must and we will. The only question is how much damage he will do before there is a check on his power.

WHY TRUMP'S POLICIES WILL FAIL AMERICA

On my Woodrow Wilson button canvas, you will see pins with the alliterative slogan “Win with Wilson” and others celebrating his first-term achievements such as an eight-hour workday for railroad workers. Many of his 1916 reelection buttons reminded voters that he kept us out of World War I: “War in Europe, Peace in America, God Bless Wilson” or “Peace and Prosperity.” To hammer home this point, the Wilson campaign chose two more slogans: “Safety First” and “America First.”

The latter is a problematic phrase. In the 1850s, the American Party or “Know Nothings” used “America First” to explain away their xenophobia, a frenzied desire to keep European Catholics and other “undesirables” out of the country. Following World War I – German U-boat attacks and the Zimmerman Telegram forced Wilson and Congress to enter the war in 1917 – “America First” became an isolationist catch phrase until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. High-profile America Firsters, Charles Lindbergh among them, defended Nazi policies and blamed Jews for Hitler’s war. “America First,” in short, stoked nativism, white supremacy, isolationism, and economic protectionism.

It is no surprise that Donald Trump resurrected the slogan “America First” during his 2016 run for president. Indeed, the first federal budget that Trump submitted to Congress was titled, “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again.”

Nativism? Trump routinely demeans immigrants such as Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, and promises mass deportations. Trump and Fox commentators claim migrants “bring diseases into the country” – the exact language used against Asian American workers during the Chinese Exclusionary Acts which began in 1882. White supremacy? Racist appeals and actions are no longer coded under Trump. Nearly 90% of his first-term judicial appointments were White. Isolationism? Trump threatens NATO, bullies our allies, pulls out of international treaties, and seems willing to cede a democratic Ukraine to Vladimir Putin. Protectionism? Trump promises tariffs, including 25% on our two biggest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. 

Nativism, racism, isolationism, and protectionism have hurt and stained this nation time and again. Enlightened foreign and trade policies require smart calibration to protect American interests, but this full-on charge under the banner of “America First” will be ruinous. Take history’s word for it.