President Trump’s threats against Denmark are not merely ill-conceived; they are profoundly dangerous. They reflect the bullying, simplistic instincts that have come to define his chaotic foreign policy — an approach that treats allies as adversaries and coercion as diplomacy. Treaties are treated with contempt. 

This posture has severely damaged trust with Denmark, a longstanding friend and NATO ally, while further undermining the confidence of our other allies in the United States as a reliable partner. It signals to Russia and China that American commitments are conditional, that sovereignty is negotiable, and that international law is expendable. Moscow, with its ambitions in Ukraine, and Beijing, with its claims over Taiwan, are watching closely — and drawing conclusions.

Trump’s threats toward Cuba, Canada, Mexico, Iran and others reveal a broader pattern: the normalization of intimidation as statecraft. In our name, he now wields the military and financial power of the United States with diminishing, begrudged restraint. 

Since World War II, there has been anxious speculation about where the next untethered, cold-eyed threat to global stability would arise. China and Russia have been strong contenders for that dubious distinction. Today, a new candidate for aggression and chaos has emerged. It breaks my heart: it is us.

Fred Wolff
Cumberland