Greenlanders gather to protest against Donald Trump

President Trump has a standard political playbook, and his Greenland threats are right on script, writes former US Embassy specialist Michael Martins in today’s Notebook

Denmark can diffuse Trump on Greenland

On a recent client call, I argued that the massive US naval deployment off Venezuela for a three-hour extraction looked more like President Trump searching for a quick win rather than a war. Therefore, until American ships are moving towards Nuuk, I tend not to take talk of a Greenland annexation too seriously.

It was a difficult call then and it remains a difficult one now, but it is, unpopularly, what I happen to think.

I know this is an intensely emotional issue for many, but this is generally how President Trump negotiates. When he is looking for a political win, he has a standard playbook. He threatens the most extreme scenario to focus minds and then raises prices to force his counter parties to come closer to his terms and offer something up they think he wants. He then pockets the win before repeating the process over again or moving on to a new target.

I think the same will be the case for Greenland.

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