John Bolton: The damage that Trump is doing to America's reputation is just impossible to state.
This is so extraordinary to threaten the invasion of a NATO ally, to seize territory from a democracy. The impact in Europe, you cannot calculate how bad this is for us. 1/
Bolton: There is nothing that we need in terms of security in Greenland that's not amply provided in a 1951 treaty with Denmark called the Defense of Greenland Treaty.
I think diplomats between the two countries and with other NATO allies could resolve this very quickly. 2/
Bolton: Russia and China are a threat in the Arctic — we’ve known that for decades. The U.S. has been just as lax as other NATO allies in responding.
But we’ll do whatever it takes to defend our interests in Greenland, Northern Canada and Alaska — that’s why alliances exist. 3/
Bolton: It’s not about defending Greenland. Trump said Russian and Chinese ships are all over it — they are not.
The threat comes from the melting polar ice cap. We need surveillance, not U.S. military force. 4/
Bolton: If you want to rip up NATO and show allies like Japan, South Korea, and Australia we can’t be trusted — use force against Denmark in Greenland.
Threaten friends with tariffs. It’s so counterproductive it’ll take years to repair the damage Trump is doing. 5/
Bolton: Consider what it means for the United States to invade an ally like Denmark. Is Canada next, Great Britain, Spain?
For 250 years Denmark’s been one of America’s closest friends, yet Trump thinks that the only way to deal with them is to threaten military force. 6/
Bolton: People say that's just the way Trump is. That's not the right answer. He's the president of the United States.
People take what he says seriously. They think that the risk of military force is real. I don't think it is, but other people could be forgiven if they do. 7/
Bolton: Trump said the other day, we need Greenland psychologically. The United States does not need Greenland psychologically.
Trump does. This is not about American national security. This is about Donald Trump alone. 8X
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