Trumps actions in Venezuela deposed the leader of a regime who helped to destroy the country. He also supported Iran, China and Russia as enemies of the western world. So probably not a bad move to control what is the largest producer of oil and stop it being controlled by our enemies.
The protests in Iran and destabilisation of that country are positive for the people living in that country and for western interests. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that is happening now, all around the same time as Venezuela. Trump threatening Iran if it kills protesters is the right thing to do and they know he won’t hesitate because of his attack on their nuclear capabilities last year.
Cuba is supported economically by Venezuela so Trump is essentially saying they won’t get economic support anymore and they need to play ball and stop working with Russia and China.
There is a clear strategy that Trump is targeting the countries that support Russia and China and weakening their position in the world by doing so.
In terms of Greenland, Russia and China has shown interest in controlling it over recent years which would be a significant security concern for Europe and the US, particularly with the expansion of the military of those two countries and even the UKs top army officials saying we may have to prepare for war with Russia after 2030. Trump is using this rhetoric to get dozy European leaders to get up off their butts and think about better protecting it to minimise the Russia / China risk. Vance said so himself. I would say it’s highly unlikely Trump is going to invade Greenland but he is using forceful language to make people sit up ans pay attention and do something about it.
I think what Trump is doing is actually trying to strategically better position the west and is having to drag western leaders who have been resting on their laurels over China and Russia for the past 20 years. As the US administration has said, Europe has been too reliant on the US militarily and needs to start getting serious about the risks we face. My personal view is that I’m glad someone is banging the drum on this before it’s too late. Trump knows that the US needs Europe as an ally against the Chinese and Russians but needs it to sort itself out. Vance’s speech in Munich also said this.
It’s very easy to throw out 2 sentence statements saying he’s clueless but it’s a bit more complex than that. His moves to shore up western interests against Russia and Chinese risks are certainly more assertive than any other western leaders in the last 20 years and, so far, without going to war. Trump is quite calculated but gives the impression of being more unpredictable which is intentional when dealing in negotiations with people, particularly nut job regimes and soft western leaders.
For those that think we shouldn’t be dealing with the China / Russia issue firmly I think that attitude is why we have the problem we do now. And in case people hadn’t realised sanctions don’t work particularly when the network of the “baddies” has been allowed to increase unchecked
