There is talk of confiscating Donald Trump’s car keys. That he is beyond control, with threats and military escapades around the world.
The kidnapping of the presidential couple in Venezuela was both unexpected and a little strange, as it did not result in a change of regime. The vice-president remains in power, a person elected by the hated socialist regime. And even though the raid into the country resembled a neatly choreographed action film, very little was achieved, at least as far as we know today.
The recurring outbursts against Greenland and the desire to take over the region from Denmark are perceived as both threatening and somewhat unrealistic, but of course one realises that Greenland is an important piece in the geopolitical puzzle, especially in terms of defence against nuclear missiles over the Arctic, but also minerals and sea routes.
Then there are the repeated threats against Iran and attempts at regime change there too. The Shah’s son is waiting to become Shah, as if he had been promised the title, something he may never achieve. The Iranians seem to have quelled the unrest once again. Trump has mentioned that the rebels may receive help from the US to achieve their goals.
There are many who think that the president should tone it down, stop playing games and concentrate on domestic politics. There are plenty of infrastructure projects that should be started in the US, such as improving the road network, airports, bridges, etc. The MAGA movement was originally an introverted phenomenon where the endless wars around the world would end and the focus would be on making America great again.
But what alternatives are there really? The Democratic Party, which was in power before Trump, was just as eager to start wars around the world. The national debt increased at the same rate as the military adventures abroad. It seems that the entire American establishment, regardless of who wins the elections, advocates conflict in various forms. And so it has been since Korea, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, etc. The reasons have shifted from saving us from communism, terrorism and fascism. Nothing new under the sun, just constantly changing packaging. And no one believes that the US is doing this just to kindly help the rest of the world; of course, there are selfish goals and ambitions to consolidate its position as a superpower.
With this in mind, we can conclude that Trump’s military adventures have so far been short and limited. The rhetoric, on the other hand, has been more bombastic, grandiose and somewhat incoherent. It is often Trump’s tone that people react to, rather than what he actually does. In practice, we still have the war in Ukraine as a combined American and NATO project, but it seems to be coming to an end for several reasons, partly because continued Western funding has reached a ceiling, and partly because Russia is winning. The rest of Trump’s military adventures are more reminiscent of fireworks than real conflicts. If we filter out all the talk and look at the actions, the US’s wars and conflicts should decrease this year. Unless something unforeseen happens, of course.
