Donroe
Plus: Saunas, steak, mandatory national service, rounding up mean internet posters, and more...
This (Green)land is your land: President Donald Trump, a man who loves his conquests, has set his sights on acquiring Greenland by striking a deal with Denmark. On Saturday, he threatened a new round of tariffs slapped on the European nations he perceives to be standing in his way—Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, and Finland—to the tune of 10 percent, starting February 1. (Denmark is, of course, the main one he's mad at, but the others have all expressed their support of Denmark and thus earned his ire.)
If a deal isn't struck soon, these tariffs will increase to 25 percent by June 1.
On Truth Social, "Trump argued that the United States needed to control Greenland as a bulwark against Chinese and Russian ambitions in the Arctic, although the United States already has the right to expand its military presence in Greenland under a 1951 agreement with Denmark," per The New York Times.
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"I had a very good telephone call with Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, concerning Greenland," writes Trump. "I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland. As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back — On that, everyone agrees!"
"Trump is more demolition man than architect" of American foreign policy, writes The Atlantic's Charles Kupchan. This is perhaps true: Trump routinely struggles with implementation, with what comes after all the bluster and dealmaking. But "the Greenland episode, disgraceful and shameful as it is, should be seen in the context of Trump's other foreign-policy escapades—the capturing of Nicolás Maduro; the bombing of the Iranian nuclear program; the attempt to rebuild and reorient war-shattered Gaza; the on-again, off-again relationships with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky; the tariff bazookas that get downgraded to squirt guns with China. Erratic as the president sounds, the Trumpian worldview is comprehensible and even, in some respects, predictable," writes Eliot Cohen for The Atlantic. Trump "has three principal instruments in foreign policy: tariffs and kindred economic sanctions, brief bombing campaigns, and commando raids. He has no tolerance for bloody battles, which is why he will not authorize an Arctic amphibious campaign that faces real opposition."
This aversion to using boots on the ground is a good thing. But coercion through tariffs is still coercion. "We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not," Trump told reporters earlier this month.
Scenes from New York: "A federal judge ruled on Friday that a real estate investment firm could complete a $451 million purchase of thousands of apartments from a landlord that has filed for bankruptcy, an early setback for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who had vowed on his first day in office to protect the tenants," reports The New York Times. Full story here.
QUICK HITS
- What the hell?
The Miami Beach mayor's office is now flagging citizen's Facebook posts and sending police to their doors to intimidate them for criticism of the mayor.
This video is absolutely outrageous. pic.twitter.com/L8mEr6hPe2
— Mel (@Villgecrazylady) January 19, 2026
- I feel pretty confident that mandatory national service would result in the stupidest possible assignments: Zoomers being forced to serve as ICE agents (under Republican administrations) or as sex-change-advocating social workers (under Democratic administrations). Also, young people should be allowed autonomy, too, and not just be seen as little pawns under the state's control:
We have never needed a year of mandatory national service than we do right now. If the libs regain power, it's the first thing they should do. Everyone has to spend a year in some national service between when you're 18 and 23. These kids can't even read right now man.
— kang (@jaycaspiankang) January 16, 2026
- President Trump issued a new round of pardons on Friday.
- "Echoing concerns of Pope Leo XIV over a new era of unilateralism and warfare, the three highest-ranking U.S. Catholic archbishops on Monday said 'the moral foundation for America's actions in the world' has been thrown into question by a resurgence in the use or threat of military force, including in Venezuela and Greenland," reports The Washington Post. "A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies. War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading," said Pope Leo earlier this month.
- Scandinavians "have noticed an approach heavier on optimization and performance" from Americans who have recently adopted the use of saunas, reports The New York Times. "Some have detected more of a Burning Man mentality—group breathing exercises and the like. In Mr. Kilpi's estimation, Americans often rush too quickly through the sauna experience, sometimes squeezing it in for a few minutes before or after a workout, not long enough to truly relax. Rarely does the environment resemble the leisurely experience he grew up with." I'm with the Scandinavians here: Saunas should be chatty, full of nudity, and accompanied by a lovely meal after. I don't want any of that Wim Hof breathing crap anywhere near me!
- I can't even hate, I kinda love this whole vibe:
They gave him a steak with candles like he's a dog about to die. https://t.co/OvfJ391sJb
— Sean O'Connor (@seanoconnz) January 18, 2026