Last week, the revelation that Donald Trump wanted the United States to buy Greenland from the Danes was something of an internet diversion.
This week, however, it has blown up into an international incident. Because Denmark refused flat out to even consider the idea, Trump abruptly scheduled a long-scheduled state visit to Denmark specifically because of the Greenland rejection (details
here)
As if that wasn't enough, then Trump took to Twitter and blasted Denmark's prime minister for being "nasty," a common label he uses for any woman who stands up to him.
This is how he treats America's closest and most loyal allies. In contrast, for dictators who head America's adversaries, Trump can't lavish enough praise.
Needless to say, the Danes are appalled at this treatment (details
here). I hope any Danes here who might be reading this realize that Trump is widely loathed by a majority of Americans and does not reflect American admiration for Denmark.
I can't subscribed to those conspiracy theories that hold Trump is some kind of Manchurian Candidate controlled by Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. But when he pulls crap like this, it does make those ideas awfully tempting.
In contrast, some pundits have a different theory as to what this is all about. Trump is wildly unpopular in Europe and his early September visit would have been met with a massive protest.
And President Obama is also scheduled to visit Denmark in late September, where he's widely loved and revered. His appearances are expected to draw huge crowds.
So had Trump visited and then Obama, the media would have contrasted the two and made the current President look like a fool in the process. So the theory goes that Trump blew up the whole Greenland thing simply as a way to cancel the trip whilst blaming someone else (details
here).
That's certainly plausible.