Will Trump Invade Canada?

Back before the US election, I wrote that Trump would be just as bad as Biden or Harris – that presidents are products of the US system—and changes in presidents are just like changes in your wardrobe. Underneath, naked (ugh). every president looks the the same. Teeny weenies.

Blame the System. Blame the public that puts up with it, pretending to work within it. One man will make no difference in the end.

There is nothing that can stop the collapse of the system, just as no Caesar, even (LOL) Julian could stop the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Emperor Julian

It seems that the Internet Commentariat was hoping for a different Trump.

Brian Berletic was one of the few who pointed out the New Trump was not going to be really new.As he puts it,

Trump isn't change, he's a distraction.

The debate with Kamala Harris should have proven that. Infotainment? Of Disinfotainment?

So now we have Trump threatening to annex Panama, Greenland, and Canada!

Moon of Alabama thinks it is just Trump trying to distract from American impotence in challenging Russia, China, and Iran. Maybe. Teeny Weeny, after all.

But…

Bernhard assumes more rationality than the “Stable Genius” is capable of.

If you read the Art of the Deal you will notice that Trump emphasizes the importance of braggadocio or what the calls “bravado” or “hyperbole” in “deals”. His is the kind of posturing that you see in High School bullies.

The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration, and a very effective form of promotion. The Art of the Deal.

He is correct: and this is how high school bullies attract followers.

Trump cannot bully Russia – or China-- or Iran – not this time around. He is, I am sure. much more worried about all those other, smaller, weaker countries looking to join BRICS!

But mostly he has to look strong for Americans — which means attract attention, do a bit of “Mad Max”.

The US invaded Panama once to take out its CIA installed strongman Noriega who nobody really lamented. But today’s Panama is a different story and an invasion could invite all sorts of unpleasantness – from all the other countries that use the Canal!

Greenland? The local government has rejected Trump’s plans and so has Denmark and Europe.

If Trump wants European countries to pay more for NATO, it would probably be a good idea not to alienate their publics even more than they already have been.

In the 19^th Century the US tried to invade Canada – and lost.

Canada has huge resources, is a NATO member, and if it retaliates with trade measures raising the price of the resources it supplies….ouch. What could go wrong?

The new Canadian PM-in-waiting has a French name but was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada’s most rightwing province . Poilievre is a Canuck cowboy version of Trump – just a lot smarter.

Whereas Trump is betrayed by his own narcissism, Poilievre’s foreign policy is likely to be even more unpleasant as Trudeau’s. and even more so than Trump’s.

In any case, threats and “bravado” have more and more countries lining up to join BRICS.

Special Article

The Special Article has gotten so long I will break it into parts— 2 or 3, with the last part dealing with Putin only. Xi Jinping really deserves a separate article all his own. I also need to pay more attention to Putin and Xi’s weaknesses as well as their strengths, as some of you have suggested—and that adds an extra dimension.

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