Since he started work as NATO secretary-general almost two years ago, Mark Rutte has spent much of his time trying to keep the United States anchored to the world’s biggest military alliance.
I strongly doubt the reason Trump backed down from the 51st state thing was NATO militaries. Again, no member of NATO was ever going to actually fight America for Canada. They (the European side at least; no way Turkey was getting involved) would’ve retaliated, but those ways, being non-military, have nothing to do with NATO.
Trump hasn’t backed down from the 51st state thing permanently, he just gets distracted. Trump is deep into dementia and one of the things that results in is obsessions that simply cannot be let go of. The 51st state thing will keep coming back, just like the Greenland thing.
What stops him is that even though he managed to ensure that there are no adults in the room this time around to rein him in like last time he was in office, even the children in the room that he’s surrounded himself with realize that this is a terrible idea.
Trump hasn’t backed down from the 51st state thing permanently, he just gets distracted.
Maybe not permanently, but definitely for the foreseeable future. If you’ll remember, Trump’s official line on the 51st state business is that he will not force the issue militarily. This is as opposed to Greenland, where he has said no such thing. In effect he has backed down, because he’s ruled out the one thing that could even plausibly make it happen.
The next thing out of his mouth could be completely different and that will become the official line at that point. He only sticks to any sort of agreement or position for as long as it benefits him, not one second longer than that.
There have recently been direct annexation threats against Canada.
Not by anybody NATO would get into a fight with.
The point is to make belligerents back down by raising the cost they’d have to pay by carrying through.
This particular belligerent backs down so often that there’s a special acronym for it, so NATO’s a perfectly good protective tool here.
I strongly doubt the reason Trump backed down from the 51st state thing was NATO militaries. Again, no member of NATO was ever going to actually fight America for Canada. They (the European side at least; no way Turkey was getting involved) would’ve retaliated, but those ways, being non-military, have nothing to do with NATO.
Trump hasn’t backed down from the 51st state thing permanently, he just gets distracted. Trump is deep into dementia and one of the things that results in is obsessions that simply cannot be let go of. The 51st state thing will keep coming back, just like the Greenland thing.
What stops him is that even though he managed to ensure that there are no adults in the room this time around to rein him in like last time he was in office, even the children in the room that he’s surrounded himself with realize that this is a terrible idea.
Maybe not permanently, but definitely for the foreseeable future. If you’ll remember, Trump’s official line on the 51st state business is that he will not force the issue militarily. This is as opposed to Greenland, where he has said no such thing. In effect he has backed down, because he’s ruled out the one thing that could even plausibly make it happen.
His most recent official line.
The next thing out of his mouth could be completely different and that will become the official line at that point. He only sticks to any sort of agreement or position for as long as it benefits him, not one second longer than that.