…The economic consequences of Trump’s tariffs will be bad enough, but the bigger problem is likely to be the political fallout. The words and actions of the American president are harming relations with America’s allies and friends, who are the primary targets of Trump’s hostility and threats. (Trump has spoken quite well of Putin for many years, and once said that he “fell in love” with Kim Jung Il. Trump also doesn’t threaten to take any of their territory like he does a NATO ally.)
Trump has been making such threats for a while. During the campaign he not only promised numerous tariffs, he also derided America’s allies, stating that he would be fine with Putin doing “whatever the hell he wanted” to NATO countries if they didn’t “pay their bills” (Trump has repeatedly mischaracterized the commitment by NATO members to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defense as being delinquent on paying their bills to the U.S. if they haven’t met the target).
After the election, Trump began to speak about using the American military to forcibly take Greenland from Denmark (a NATO ally), and the Panama Canal Zone. He even suggested using “economic force” to make Canada part of the U.S. Energized MAGA supporters took this talk even further, going on social media to post maps showing a “greater” United States that includes these places. This bluster seemed to come out of nowhere, and has served primarily to antagonize countries that have had friendly relations with the United States….