video screenshot

President Donald Trump has announced a 10% tariff on goods from eight NATO countries, effective February 1, escalating to 25% by June 1. The move follows opposition from these countries to his ambition to acquire Greenland. Countries affected include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland.

Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, is at the heart of this geopolitical tension. Trump argues that acquiring Greenland is essential for U.S. security, fearing potential threats from China and Russia. His rhetoric, shared on social media, insists that Denmark cannot protect Greenland adequately.

European leaders reacted strongly, denouncing the tariffs as unacceptable. French President Emmanuel Macron affirmed his country's commitment to sovereignty and rejected any intimidation. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also denounced the tariffs, asserting that NATO allies should not face penalties for maintaining security.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson mentioned discussions among affected nations for a coordinated response, asserting Denmark and Greenland should decide their futures. Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called Trump’s actions surprising and unacceptable following recent constructive talks with U.S. officials.

International reactions underscore widespread disapproval of Trump’s Greenland ambitions. Protests erupted in Greenland, with citizens marching in opposition to the proposal. A Quinnipiac University poll showed 55% of American voters were against purchasing Greenland, with wide disapproval across political lines.

Amidst bipartisan critique, U.S. lawmakers are attempting to ease tensions. A delegation visited Greenland to reinforce ties and reassure NATO partners of Congress’s opposition to the plan. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis warned that tariffs would harm relations with Europe and potentially aid adversaries.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced plans for legislation to block these tariffs, describing Trump's actions as a misguided pursuit. Legal battles over the tariffs are ongoing, with cases potentially reaching the Supreme Court, though a decision timeline remains unclear, reported ABC News.

Key Takeaways:

• Trump imposes tariffs on NATO allies due to his Greenland ambitions.

• European leaders strongly criticise the tariffs, calling them unjust and divisive.

• Legal and legislative challenges to the tariffs are underway in the U.S.

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from ABC News 2026-01-19

 

 

Ah, the Master Distractor fires up the carnival barker’s megaphone once more. Just as the ghastly specter of the Epstein flight logs threatens to ooze further into public view, with its vipers’ nest of powerful names and sickening questions, our orange-haired Caesar suddenly rediscovers his childhood fascination with globe—specifically, the big, icy part of it.

How perfectly, cynically timely.

While rational people wonder about compromised justices, credibly accused billionaires, and the grotesque traffic of the vulnerable, Trump, that grand virtuoso of deflection, rolls out a two-pronged buffoonish diversion: Greenland and tariffs. It’s like watching a magician so desperate to distract you from the corpse in his trunk that he starts setting his own pants on fire while shouting about a suspiciously empty igloo.

First, Greenland. The very idea—a shambolic, half-remembered daydream from 2019, reheated like week-old fast-food—is so ludicrous it borders on performance art. He’s not proposing a serious geopolitical strategy; he’s dangling a shiny, absurd object for the MAGAts to chase.

“Forget the underage girls on the Lolita Express, my beautiful patriots! Look at this big, beautiful island full of… ice and maybe some minerals! We’re gonna win so much, you’ll get tired of winning glaciers!” It’s a testament to his contempt for his base’s intellect: when the going gets tough, the tough start playing a lunatic game of Risk.

And then, the punitive tariffs—the economic equivalent of a toddler threatening to hold his breath until the world agrees he’s right. Any nation that disagrees with his delusions of cartographic grandeur will be economically spanked. It’s a perfect, caustic cocktail of his two signature moves: vindictive, self-sabotaging policy and playground bully tactics. He’s essentially saying, “Distract yourselves with a trade war over a landmass we can’t have, so you don’t have time to ask which of my friends or appointees were on Epstein’s speed dial.”

The sheer, galling genius of it is in its crudeness. He understands the media’s addiction to his circus and the base’s appetite for nationalist fan-fiction. A complex, morally reprehensible scandal involving the ultra-wealthy and powerful? Too messy. Too real. But a real estate grift masquerading as imperialism? Now that’s a rally cry! It transforms existential questions about corruption and justice into a simple, tribal chant: “USA! USA! Buy Greenland!”

So let us raise a cynical glass to the Conductor of Chaos. While the rest of us stare, horrified, at the cracking facade of power, he simply paints a garish, ridiculous mural over the cracks—a mural of melting icebergs and imaginary tariff revenue. And his followers, God help them, will stare at the mural with patriotic tears in their eyes, believing they’re looking at the future, all while the stench of the past grows stronger behind the freshly painted wall.

Bravo, Donald. A masterclass in the art of the smokescreen. Again.

An interesting article in The New York Times today on how NATO countries could boycott/ban US companies - some pain and inconvenience for NATO, but big problems for the but companies which support Trump.

Thanks Donald for reaching into my wallet and taking my money…..come on Supreme Court and stop this nonsense it’s getting ridiculous…..on Midas touch they reported that Ukraine and France fed some false info to trumps minions and the Russians reacted…..now this……Trump is indeed performing above and beyond expectations….FOR THE ENEMY….can anyone possibly imagine the joy in the kremlin with this cartoon president?

Jim Waldron, very well described and written.

I encourage a BOYCOTT of travel to the USA and the placing of SANCTIONS on individuals in the trump administration by the international community.

Another really stupid, petulant move by a president totally out of control. Meanwhile Congress, with actual tariff power, is asleep at the switch. Wake up!

He lost my support a long time ago - now it’s congresses turn.