TLDR - A prediction : The USA will capture Greenland.
In 2025, JD Vance (VP and a leading contender to succeed Donald Trump) stated that the U.S. has a simple approach to foreign policy:
Step 1: Diplomacy
Step 2: Intense diplomacy
Step 3: Overwhelming military force
We saw this policy in action with Iran last year. Threats escalated until the U.S. flew bombers around the world to strike a country unprovoked. Iran had not attacked the U.S. Shortly thereafter, Israel bombed a NATO ally, Qatar, home to one of the largest U.S. military bases. The U.S. undoubtedly knew about the strike and allowed it to happen. This shows that Qatar is not an ally, but an asset to be used as Washington sees fit.
In 2026, this framework appears to be directed at Europe, specifically, Greenland. It is an asset. The US wants it. This is a European problem, a Danish problem. Europe has alienated Africa, Russia, China, and India. Some of those countries have interests in the region, but they won’t go to war over Greenland. Europe lacks an army, backbone, leverage, and consensus — in short, Europe is perpetually paralyzed, unable to respond collectively, decisively, or at all. It is not if Donald Trump will follow through on his claims, but when.
European politicians remain trapped in a blurry version of the past. They still think they had an ally, when in reality everything, even WWII, was transactional. Europe paid the U.S. to intervene. U.S. interests aligned then, but they do not now. If Venezuela, with 29 million people across 916,000 km², was low-hanging fruit, then Greenland, with 57,000 people across 2.1 million km², is literally in Donald Trump’s hand. More people were killed in Gaza than live in Greenland - and the world did nothing.
The European problem is compounded by the fact that national newspapers regularly publish articles decrying “anti-American” sentiment, even as the U.S. conducts unprovoked strikes and kidnappings. This highlights Europe’s double standards. It demands moral outrage for others’ actions while overlooking America’s violations. The U.S. can do no wrong in much of the Western media, even when it is clearly doing wrong.
The harsh reality of U.S. foreign policy: might makes right, speed and decisiveness trump law, norms, and moral outrage, and Europe is irrelevant. Europe can do nothing; Greenland will be taken — it is only a matter of how.
you’re right about how power works and how weak Europe is. You’re wrong about where that logic leads. Real power isn’t taking what you can. It’s knowing when taking something would cost more than it’s worth