From deploying the National Guard into U.S. cities that are largely Democrat-run, with an image being painted that they’re crime-ridden and almost anarchic, to launching an illegal capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro without congressional approval, Trump has now renewed his campaign to annex Greenland, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally. He says it is in the best interests of U.S. national security.
In a move that would shock the nation and test the limits of the executive branch, President Trump in June 2025 had ordered the deployment of California’s National Guard to Los Angeles to ensure the safety of immigration enforcement and federal sites. The deployment was in response to the raging protests against the Trump Administration’s controversial immigration policies and operations, overriding California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Trump’s actions in Los Angeles began a wave and pattern of the White House diverting the National Guard from its more essential duties to be used as a law enforcement unit largely in major “blue” cities with sanctuary city policies, which Trump views as unaligned with the administration’s goals. He has either threatened to or already deployed the guard in cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Portland, Chicago, New York City, Baltimore, San Francisco, Oakland, Memphis and New Orleans.
Trump has actively defied the limits of the executive branch, raising countless legality questions constitutionally. It is an overwhelming show of force in democratic strongholds, with the use of crime and immigration as loose justifications.
On Jan. 3, in a shocking change of events, the administration with the use of the U.S. Special Forces invaded Venezuela to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the First Lady. Hours later, in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump stated that the U.S. would run Venezuela for the time being.
This event proved not just to Americans, but to the whole world that the Trump administration is now willing to use brutal force and the military to carry out its agenda on an international stage. Until now, this is something that had only been seen on a domestic level, but it has expanded beyond U.S. borders.
Now he is threatening to annex Greenland yet again, right after his contentious operation. It should be more concerning to all of us that there is a possibility of Trump using militant means to occupy Greenland, but rather that he is threatening to attack a NATO ally, citing broader security issues with its strategic location.
The U.S. relationship with the alliance has been shaky ever since Trump’s return to the White House, but a move on Greenland would completely mean “the end of NATO,” as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen put it. NATO is one of America’s paramount alliances with which it has cooperated since 1949 on key security issues and there is no rationale to his foreign policy other than trying to control other countries, since he is even threatening a historic ally of the U.S.
Simply put, if Trump doesn’t even care about U.S. citizens or how his actions impact the well-being of communities in such U.S. cities, then he won’t care about other countries as long as he gets what he wants.
By threatening to take over Greenland, European leaders and the U.S.’s traditional allies are more skeptical of America’s waning leadership and Trump’s persona as a dealmaker. This persona has been marked by his hard-bargaining, power-flaunting style, where he utilizes leverage, making the U.S. more unilateral and transactional with its foreign policy approach. His style has led to mixed consequences for U.S. allies, adversaries and global institutions.
While these stances can lead to gains and concessions for Trump with his “America First” agenda, demonstrating his toughness, it has already risked waning alliances, increasing conflict through coercion and eroding long-term trust in the U.S.
Furthermore, Trump’s actions may embolden countries, namely China, to undertake similar strategies in carrying out their goals, including the recurring issue of Taiwan and its sovereignty, which the Trump administration just demonstrated it can do in South America when they see a belligerent leader.
If Trump goes through with his Greenland plan, it will lead to disastrous consequences that Trump has probably already neglected and the operation in Venezuela should’ve already sent a stark warning of what the Trump White House is capable of in their crusade.
