Britain has ‘first dibs’ on Greenland, island’s last Danish minister says

Dominic Penna
Sun 26 January 2025

Donald Trump says his main motivation for acquiring Greenland is ‘national security’ - Emil Stach/Reuters

Britain would have the right to buy Greenland before the US, the island’s last Danish minister has said.

Tom Høyem was Copenhagen’s last permanent representative in the Arctic territory, which established its own parliament in 1979 and began a new era of self-rule 30 years later.

Donald Trump has made clear to Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, that he wants to place Greenland under American control.

But Mr Høyem said that Mr Trump would require approval from Sir Keir Starmer because of an undertaking signed in 1917, the first time the US was interested in acquiring the island.

“If Trump tried to buy Greenland, he would have to ask London first,” Mr Høyem told The Sunday Times.

Tom Høyem has said Donald Trump ‘would have to ask London first’ before buying Greenland - 

Dpa Picture Alliance/Alamy Stock Photo

“The United Kingdom demanded in 1917 that if Greenland were to be sold then the UK should have the first right to buy it.”

The demand arose because Canada was a British dominion at the time and lies only a few miles from Greenland. The countries have shared a land border since 2022.

Mr Høyem said that Woodrow Wilson, the US president at the time, then agreed that Greenland was and would always be Danish.

Mette Frederikson (pictured right) told Donald Trump that Greenland was not for sale despite his ‘big interest’ - Mads Claus Rasmussen/AFP

Denmark was said to have been in “crisis mode” after a 45-minute call between Mr Trump and Ms Frederiksen prior to the inauguration.

According to the Financial Times, Ms Frederiksen told Mr Trump that Greenland was not for sale despite his “big interest”.

Mr Trump was then said to have become “aggressive” and threatened to pummel Denmark with tariffs unless it agreed to sell Greenland.

In a press conference prior to the call, the US president said his main motivation for acquiring Greenland was “national security”.

A source on Trump’s team said the purpose of the planned expansion was to send a “strong, deliberate message to Beijing” that American interests in the Arctic would be protected.

Donald Trump Jr, the president’s son, visited Greenland last week and posed with residents wearing MAGA hats.

In response, his father said: “I am hearing that the people of Greenland are MAGA.”

Donald Trump has said ‘I am hearing that the people of Greenland are MAGA’ in response to his son’s visit to the Arctic region - Daniel L Johnson/Shutterstock

The Pentagon’s latest Arctic strategy, published late last year, shows China is taking an increased interest in the region.

Denmark has previously been willing to sell its overseas territories, offering the Danish West Indies to Prussia in 1864 and to the US in 1867.

A deal was eventually struck during the First World War when the islands were sold to the US for $25 million, equivalent to around $700 million (£560 million) today, and renamed the US Virgin Islands.

Another Country Has ‘First Dibs’ On Greenland Before America: Ex-Envoy

Sean Craig
Sun 26 January 2025 

Denmark’s former representative to Greenland has claimed US President Donald Trump needs permission from a third country if he is to fulfill his pledge to take over the self-governing island.

Tom Høyem, 83, who was Copenhagen’s top envoy to Greenland from 1982 to 1987, told The Sunday Times that he believes the United Kingdom has legal standing to make a claim for the arctic territory before the United States does.

“If Trump tried to buy Greenland, he would have to ask London first,” he said, in an interview with the newspaper. “The United Kingdom demanded in 1917 that if Greenland were to be sold then the UK should have the first right to buy it.”

Høyem claimed the agreement came about when Woodrow Wilson, the US president from 1913 to 1921, tried to buy Greenland that year as part of a package deal with what are now the US Virgin Islands.

Denmark refused, he said, and conditioned the sale of what was then known as the Danish West Indies on the United States signing a letter stating Greenland “is and will forever be Danish,” he told the Sunday Times.

“I have seen the original document myself in a museum,” Høyem added. “This means the United States has legally accepted Greenland is and will always be Danish. But Trump, it seems, has never heard that.”

He went on to say he believes the UK’s claim under the 1917 terms came about because Canada was then a British dominion which has long shared a maritime border with Greenland.

Canada lies a few miles from Greenland across the Nares strait and, since 2022, shares a land border on the tiny Hans Island. Canada gained legal autonomy in 1931 and removed all remaining British authority in 1982 with the patriation of its own constitution.

It is unclear if Britain would even bother making any claim to Greenland, or if Høyem’s interpretation of the document could withstand legal scrutiny.

Trump, who has floated the idea of acquiring Denmark through the use of America’s economic and military might, held a “fiery call” with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen earlier this month, the Financial Times reported Friday.

The FT, citing senior European officials, said Trump was “aggressive and confrontational” in blustering about his plans to take control of the Danish territory. Trump has said publicly that he covets the mineral-rich territory for national security reasons.

Frederiksen was said to have reminded Trump of her own publicly stated position on the call, which is that Greenland is not for sale.

Greenlandic officials, including the territory’s Prime Minister Múte Egede, have also said they have no intention of joining the United States. Egede favors Greenland becoming a fully sovereign country and has suggested an independent Greenland would entertain closer relations with the United States, as well as maintaining its ties with Europe.

With the international spotlight on Greenland, Múte Egede, the island’s prime minister, used his New Year’s address to call for complete independence from Denmark: he declared it was “now time to take the next step for our country” to remove the “shackles of the colonial era and move on”.

“It is now time to take the next step for our country,” Egede said in a New Year’s address. “Like other countries in the world, we must work to remove the obstacles to cooperation — which we can describe as the shackles of the colonial era — and move on,”

Egede has said he believes an independence referendum could be held as earl as April, to coincide with Greenland’s legislative elections.

Høyem told the Sunday Times that the Greenlandic people ought to remain in Denmark, which provides roughly €500 million in subsidies per year. Greenland, on the other, hand, has largely untapped mineral wealth that could be used to support its economic development.

Donald Trump says residents of Greenland want to be part of US

Jennifer Rankin
Sun 26 January 2025 


Speaking onboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said: ‘I think we’re going to have it.’Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Donald Trump has said he believes the US will take control of Greenland, after details emerged of a “horrendous” call in which he made economic threats to Denmark, which has said the territory is not for sale.

Speaking onboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said: “I think we’re going to have it,” and claimed that the Arctic island’s 57,000 residents “want to be with us”.

“I do believe Greenland, we’ll get because it really has to do with freedom of the world,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the United States, other than we’re the one that can provide the freedom.”

Since his re-election, Trump has reiterated his interest in acquiring the Arctic island, which is controlled by Denmark but has a large degree of autonomy.

His latest comments follow a “horrendous” phone call with the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, during which Trump was said to be aggressive and confrontational in his attempt to take over the island. Five current and former senior European officials told the Financial Times that the call had gone very badly. “It was horrendous,” said one of the sources. “It was a cold shower,” another told the paper. “Before, it was hard to take seriously, but I do think it is serious and potentially very dangerous.”

Trump was reported to have threatened Denmark, a Nato ally, with targeted tariffs, essentially taxes on Danish exports to the US.

The Danish prime minister’s office said it did “not recognise the interpretation of the conversation given by anonymous sources”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Múte Egede, who wants independence from Denmark, has said the territory is not for sale but is open for closer ties with the US in areas such as mining.

Writing on X on Saturday, the chair of the Danish parliament’s defence committee, Conservative MP Rasmus Jarlov, said Denmark would never hand over 57,000 of its citizens to become Americans against their will. “We understand that the US is a powerful country. We are not. It is up to the US how far they will go. But come what may. We are still going to say no.”

Strategically located between the US and Europe, Greenland is a potential geopolitical battleground, as the climate crisis worsens.

The rapid melting of the island’s huge ice sheets and glaciers has raised interest in oil drilling (although Greenland in 2021 stopped granting exploration licences) and mining for essential minerals including copper, lithium, cobalt and nickel.

Melting Arctic ice is also opening up new shipping routes, making alternatives to the Suez canal, while the Panama canal is seeing less traffic as a result of severe drought.

Since the cold war, Greenland is also home to a US military base and its ballistic missile early warning system.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, a former senior Danish official and expert on Greenland said that in 1917, the US president Woodrow Wilson gave Copenhagen assurances that the territory “will for ever be Danish”.

Tom Høyem, Denmark’s representative to Greenland between 1982 and 1987, also said that if Denmark were to sell Greenland, it would have to give the UK first refusal under the 1917 agreement.

The British government at that time demanded it should have the first right to buy Greenland, because of the island’s proximity to Canada, then a British dominion.

Earlier this month, Trump refused to rule out using economic or military coercion to take Greenland and the Panama Canal, which he also wants under US control.

Onboard Air Force One, Trump also reiterated his view that Canada should become a US state. “I view it as, honestly, a country that should be a state,” he told reporters. “Then, they’ll get much better treatment, much better care and much lower taxes and they’ll be much more secure.”

• This article was amended on 26 January 2025. An earlier version said the Suez canal was seeing less traffic as a result of severe drought; the intended reference was to the Panama canal.

Danish Premier Reminds US of Strong Alliance Amid Greenland Spat

Christian Wienberg
Sun 26 January 2025 




(Bloomberg) -- Denmark’s prime minister said the US should remember that the Nordic country has lost troops fighting in US-led wars and always has supported its large partner, after President Donald Trump escalated his demands over Greenland.

“I think it is important that everyone in the US remembers how good an ally Denmark has been,” Mette Frederiksen said on Sunday in an interview broadcast by TV2 from Copenhagen. “So Denmark has been a good ally, we are a good ally now, and we intend to continue to be one.”

Her comments were in response to Trump reiterating on Saturday his intention to obtain Greenland for the US. The president has in recent weeks said the US needs Greenland for international security reasons and has refused to rule out using military force to obtain his goal.

“I think we’re going to have it. And I think the people want to be with us as you know,” Trump said to reporters traveling with him on Air Force One on Saturday. “I don’t know really what claim Denmark has to it. But it would be a very unfriendly act if they didn’t allow that to happen because it’s for protection of the free world.”

The two leaders also held a call last week, which some officials had described as confrontational, according to the Financial Times. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but its 57,000 inhabitants have extensive home rule.

Frederiksen repeated on Sunday that Greenland is not for sale and that the Arctic island’s future is up to the local population to decide, not Denmark nor the US. According to TV2, Frederiksen was due to meet leaders of the other Nordic countries — Sweden, Norway and Finland — later on Sunday, to discuss Greenland, among other things.

“We are working to discuss this as thoroughly as we can with the Americans but it’s not a discussion I want to have in public, for obvious reasons,” Frederiksen said, in a separate interview Sunday, broadcast by DR.

Denmark, a NATO member and a country of 6 million people, lost 44 soldiers in the Afghanistan war and eight in Iraq, under missions instigated by the US. The Nordic country spent a total of 12.1 billion kroner ($1.7 billion) on the war in Afghanistan, over 20 years.

--With assistance from Stephanie Lai.

Trump clashes with Denmark’s PM over Greenland and threatens tariffs in Arctic land row

William Mata

EVENING STANDARD
Sat 25 January 2025 


Trump clashes with Denmark’s PM over Greenland and threatens tariffs in Arctic land row


Donald Trump reportedly unleashed a furious tirade against Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen as the two clashed over the future of Greenland.

The new US president has wasted no time in his bid to acquire the territory, despite the Scandinavian country insisting it is not for sale.

Mr Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th POTUS on Monday, reportedly told Frederiksen five days earlier that he would consider imposing tariffs on Denmark if he doesn’t get his way.

The president is said to be eager to acquire the land to establish a base in the Arctic region, aiming to counter potential threats from Russia and China.

A witness told the Financial Times: “It was horrendous. He was very firm. It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous.”

Greenland’s prime minister has echoed the feeling of Ms Frederiksen and stated that the world’s largest island is not for sale - having been under Danish control since 1814. It is considered a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark, which is status that also applies to the Faroe Islands, and has had self rule since 2009.

Greenland has a population of 56,000 but has been long desired by Mr Trump, with British foreign secretary David Lammy having said that the president’s talk can be “destabilising”.

“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Mr Trump has said on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Mr Trump has previously been said to have considered military action over Greenland and is one of several radical foreign policy options he is pursuing, having already pursued changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America.

He has also stated his ambition for the US to retake control of the Panama Canal.

French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the European Union would not “let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are”.

Mr Lammy told the BBC: “I suspect on Greenland what he’s targeting is his concerns about Russia and China in the Arctic, is his concerns about national economic security.

“He recognises I’m sure that in the end Greenland today is a kingdom of Denmark.”


Trump tells Danish PM he’s serious about taking over Greenland in ‘fiery’ call that has Danes in ‘crisis mode’

Katie Hawkinson
Updated Sat 25 January 2025 


President Donald Trump told Denmark’s prime minister he is serious about taking over Greenland in a “fiery” phone call last week, the Financial Times reports.

Trump and Mette Frederiksen spoke on the phone for 45 minutes last week after the president said he wanted the US to take Greenland, despite officials repeatedly saying it’s not for sale.

The phone call was fiery, the Financial Times reports, with one official with knowledge of the conversation calling it “horrendous”.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly mentioned he wants to buy Greenland, despite officials being clear it’s not for sale (REUTERS)

“He was very firm,” another unnamed source told the Financial Times. “It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous.”

Officials also told the Financial Times Trump was aggressive and confrontational, despite Frederiksen’s offer to increase Greenland-US cooperation on military bases and natural resource exploitation.

The call “utterly freaked out” the Danes, one Danish official told the Financial Times.

“The intent was very clear,” another official told the outlet. “They want it. The Danes are now in crisis mode.”

Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, told Fox that Trump has made it clear “the safety and security of Greenland is important to the United States as China and Russia make significant investments throughout the Arctic region”.

Mette Frederiksen has told Trump that Greenland is not for sale

 (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

“The president is committed to not only protecting US interests in the Arctic but also working with Greenland to ensure mutual prosperity for both nations,” he added.

Trump has been floating the idea of buying or otherwise taking over Greenland, an island home to 56,000 people, since his first term. He refused to rule out the possible use of military force in Greenland when pressed earlier this month during a press conference.

“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last month.

Meanwhile, Frederiksen has also said that Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Edege, “has been very, very clear ... there is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future”.

Residents aren’t happy, either.

Bilo Chemnitz, who lives in the capital city Nuuk, told The Washington Post: “I don’t trust the guy.”

“I want Greenland to stay like it is,” he added.

“I don’t like the way he talks about Greenland,” resident Ida Abelsen similarly told the Post.

NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES

Trump Tries To Fire Inspectors General, Likely Violating Federal Law

Eric Boehm
Sat, January 25, 2025


President Donald Trump reportedly tried to fire at least a dozen inspectors general on Friday night, but that action appears to violate a law that Congress recently passed to prevent such a purge.

Reports vary on how many federal inspectors general were handed pink slips. The New York Times reports that "at least 12" of the executive branch agency watchdogs were dismissed by the president on Friday night, while The Washington Post pegs the number at 15 and ABC says at least 17 were canned.

Many of those fired were Trump appointees from his first term in office, the Post noted. It remains unclear whether the administration plans to fill the positions with newly appointed loyalists or to leave the posts vacant.

The firings will likely trigger an immediate legal battle over the president's authority to send inspectors general packing. A law passed by Congress in 2008 requires the White House to provide 30 days' notice before removing or replacing an inspector general. An updated version of that law, passed in 2022, requires that a president provide Congress with "substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons" for the removal. (That change was motivated, in part, by Trump's decision in 2020 to abruptly remove an inspector general charged with oversight of pandemic-era stimulus spending.)

In a letter to the White House after the firings, Hannibal "Mike" Ware, chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency wrote: "At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss" the officials.

The Trump administration did not provide notice to Congress and has not informed lawmakers about the rationale for the firing, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R–Iowa), told CNN's Manu Raju on Saturday. "There may be good reason the IGs were fired," Grassley said. "We need to know that if so. I'd like further explanation from President Trump."

"These dismissals clearly violate federal law," Sen. Dick Durbin (D–Ill.), the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, declared in a statement. Durbin called the move "a brazen attempt to rig these offices to look the other way when violations of law take place."

Some of the officials Trump tried to fire are unwilling to go without a fight. "At least one of the fired inspectors general—the State Department's Cardell Richardson Sr.—has told staff he plans to show up to work on Monday," Politico reported.

This mass dismissal comes on the heels of Trump's move earlier this week to dismiss several members from a White House board that provides oversight on privacy and civil liberties issues, including the federal government's warrantless spying programs.
So far, the second Trump administration seems less interested in draining the swamp than in pushing aside people who might sound the alarm about corruption, illegal actions, and other abuses of executive power.

Trump's firing of independent watchdog officials draws criticism

By Nandita Bose and Ismail Shakil
Sat, January 25, 2025 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's late-night firing of inspectors general at multiple government agencies was criticized as illegal on Saturday by Democrats and others and drew concern from at least one fellow Republican.

In what critics called a late-night purge, Trump fired 17 independent watchdogs on Friday, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, a move that clears the way to replace independent watchdogs with loyalists.

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, a longtime Democratic antagonist of Trump, said the action was a clear violation of the law.


"Trump wants no accountability for malfeasance in office," Schiff said in a post on platform X. "He is refilling the swamp."

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump defended the move saying "it’s a very common thing to do." He did not say who would be installed in the vacant posts.

The inspectors general at agencies including the departments of State, Defense and Transportation were notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated immediately, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The dismissals, handed out less than a week after Trump took office for his second term, appeared to violate federal law, the independent Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency said in a letter to the White House on Friday.

The law requires a president to give Congress "substantive rationale, including detailed and case specific reasons" for the dismissals 30 days in advance, the council said in the letter to Sergio Gor, White House personnel director.

Gor's Friday email to the fired inspectors cited "changing priorities" as a reason for the firings, according to the letter, reported by Politico.

"At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General," said Council Chair Hannibal Ware, suggesting Gor consult with the White House counsel.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, said the firings were "plainly illegal."

An inspector general is an independent position that conducts audits and investigations into allegations of waste, fraud and abuse of power.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, a longtime supporter of inspectors general, said he wanted to know why Trump fired the watchdogs.

"There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so. I'd like further explanation from President Trump," Grassley said in a statement, adding that a detailed 30-day notice of removal was not provided to Congress.

Fellow Republican Senator John Barrasso said he believes Trump will make wise decisions on the inspectors general. "Some of them deserve to be fired," he told Fox News.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the firings "a chilling purge" and a preview of a "lawless approach" by the Trump administration.

Agencies are pressing ahead with orders from Trump, who returned to the presidency on Jan. 20, to reshape the federal bureaucracy by scrapping diversity programs, rescinding job offers and sidelining more than 150 national security and foreign policy officials.

Friday's dismissals spared the Department of Justice inspector general, Michael Horowitz, according to the New York Times. The Washington Post, which was first to report the dismissals, said most were appointees from Trump's 2017-2021 first term.

A source familiar with the issue who spoke on condition of anonymity said among the inspectors general whom Trump has fired is John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. He was terminated on Friday evening even though his operation is due to close in September, said the source.

Many politically appointed leaders of agencies and departments come and go with each administration, but an inspector general can serve under multiple presidents.

During his first term, Trump fired five inspectors general in a two-month period in 2020. This included the State Department inspector general, who had played a role in the president's impeachment proceedings.

Last year, Trump's predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, fired the inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, after an investigation found the official had created a hostile work environment.

In 2022, Congress strengthened protections for inspectors general, making it harder to replace them with hand-picked officials and requiring additional explanations from a president for their removal.

(Reporting by Nadita Bose in Washington, Chandni Shah in Bengaluru, Ismail Shakil in Ottawa Jonathan Landay in Washington and Nate Raymond in Boston; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by William Mallard, Matthew Lewis and Chizu Nomiyama)


Sen. Adam Schiff says Trump 'broke the law' by firing 18 inspectors general

Alexandra Marquez
Sun, January 26, 2025 

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Sunday blasted President Donald Trump for his decision to fire 18 inspectors general late Friday night and accused the president of breaking the law.

“To write off this clear violation of law by saying, ‘Well,’ that ‘technically, he broke law.’ Yeah, he broke the law,” Schiff told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

His comment was responding to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who earlier in the program told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that “technically, yeah,” Trump had violated the Inspector General Act, which Congress amended to strengthen protections from undue termination for inspectors general.

“I’m not, you know, losing a whole lot of sleep that he wants to change the personnel out. I just want to make sure that he gets off to a good start,” Graham added.

In a later interview on CNN, Graham defended Trump more forcefully, saying, “Yes, I think he should have done that.”

“He feels like the government hasn’t worked very well for the American people. These watchdog folks did a pretty lousy job. He wants some new eyes on Washington. And that makes sense to me,” he added.

But Schiff pushed back on that notion, warning that “if we don’t have good and independent inspector generals, we are going to see a swamp refill.”

He added, “It may be the president’s goal here ... to remove anyone that’s going to call the public attention to his malfeasance.”

Inspectors general serve in federal agencies as independent figures who audit and investigate their agencies when allegations of waste, fraud and abuse arise.

On Friday, Trump fired at least 18 inspectors general, including those in the Defense Department, State Department, Health and Human Services Department and the Department of Labor.

On Saturday, multiple lawmakers — on both sides of the aisle — pointed out that Trump’s move appeared to violate the law, which requires presidents to give Congress a 30-day notice and substantive reasoning for the firing before an inspector general is removed from their post.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told NBC News in a statement Saturday that he’d “like further explanation from President Trump” about his justification for the firings.

“There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so. I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30 day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress,” Grassley said.

And Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate minority leader, slammed Trump’s decision in a speech on the Senate floor Saturday morning.

“Yesterday, in the dark of night, President Trump fired at least 12 independent inspector generals at important federal agencies across the administration. This is a chilling purge,” Schumer said.
He added, “These dismissals are possibly in violation of federal law, which requires Congress to have 30 days notice of any intent to fire inspectors general.”

On Saturday, a White House official told NBC News that a lot of the firing decisions happen with “legal counsel looking over them.” But they added they were checking with the White House counsel’s office, though they didn’t think the administration had broken any laws.

It’s not clear how Congress can address this apparent violation of the law, but on Sunday, Schiff said, “We have the power of the purse. We have the power right now to confirm or not confirm people for Cabinet positions that control agencies or would control agencies whose inspector generals have just been fired.”

So far, all but one of Trump’s Cabinet appointments have sailed through the Senate with the full backing of the Senate GOP caucus, which holds a 53-47 majority in that chamber. Just one nominee — new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — lost three GOP votes in his final confirmation vote, though he won a majority with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance.

NBCNews.com

Even Republicans are questioning Trump’s ‘illegal’ midnight purge of inspector generals

Gustaf Kilander

THE HILL
Sun 26 January 2025 


Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill on June 11, 2024. Grassley and other Republicans are now asking questions about President Donald Trump’s firing of inspectors general (Getty Images)

Some Republicans are concerned about President Donald Trump’s late-night firing Friday of more than a dozen inspectors general without giving the proper notification to Congress.

The new Trump administration fired about 17 inspectors general on Friday from a number of departments and agencies, including State, Defense and Transportation. The inspectors general are there to work against fraud, corruption and abuses of power.

Congressional Democrats were quick to slam the firings, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying that the action came in the “dark of night” and that it was a “chilling” indication of what the next four years would look like.

The firings could start “a golden age for abuse in government, and even corruption,” said Schumer.

On Saturday, Republicans joined in with the criticism. Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, 91, a staunch Trump ally, said in a statement obtained by CNN that Congress wasn’t notified in advance of the firings in adherence to the law.

“There may be good reason the IGs were fired,” Grassley noted Saturday. “We need to know that if so. I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30-day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress.”

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said, “What I do understand is that it is relatively unprecedented in that there was no notice.”

“I can understand why a new president coming in would want to look critically at the IGs and the role that they have played within the various agencies, but … the summary dismissal of everybody, I think, has raised concerns,” she added.

Federal law states that the White House has to inform Congress 30 days in advance of the firing of an inspector general. Several of those who lost their jobs Friday night were appointed during Trump’s first term.

On Saturday night aboard Air Force One, Trump said he “did it because it’s a very common thing to do,” adding that “not all of them” were fired.

“I don’t know them, but some people thought that some were unfair or were not doing the job. It’s a very standard thing to do,” Trump claimed without providing evidence.

On Saturday night aboard Air Force One, Trump said he “did it because it’s a very common thing to do,” adding that “not all of them” were fired (AP)

Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins noted that Trump’s firings didn’t adhere to his stated goal of fighting corruption.

“I don’t understand why one would fire individuals whose mission is to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. So this leaves a gap in what I know is a priority for President Trump,” she told reporters, according to CNN.

South Dakota Republican Senator Mike Rounds argued that Trump should get an opportunity to explain his decision.

“I honestly would just be guessing at this point as to what it what it actually entails. So I’ll wait and find out what that means in terms of other people stepping in. Are there deputies that step in? Was it specific to individuals? I just simply don’t have that information,” said Rounds.

He added: “I just heard about it just briefly this morning. I’m sure that there’ll be a discussion of it here, but I do not know what his logic was on it, and I do not know the reasoning. We’ll give him an opportunity to explain that.”

Trump fires 17 government watchdogs in middle of the night - but a key one remains in his post

Gustaf Kilander

THE INDEPENDENT UK
Sat 25 January 2025


President Donald Trump waves after stepping off Air Force One upon arrival at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. On Friday night, he fires several government watchdogs 

(AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump fired 17 inspectors general on Friday in a late-night purge of the internal government watchdogs that monitor federal agencies.

The measure didn’t remove Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, according to The New York Times.

One of the fired officials told The Post, “It’s a widespread massacre.”

“Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system,” the official added.

The Washington Post previously reported on the firings - which are legally questionable. Trump’s critics were quick to slam the firings, with Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren saying in a social media post, “Inspectors general are charged with rooting out government waste, fraud, abuse and preventing misconduct.”

“President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption,” she added.

Those working on the Trump transition had indicated that firings were likely to take place. Towards the end of his last term in office, in early 2020, Trump fired five inspectors general from their posts.

Trump was handling the coronavirus pandemic at the time even as he worked to reshape the government to remove those he viewed as trying to work against him. One of them was Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the U.S. intelligence community, who handled the whistleblower complaint that prompted Trump’s first impeachment for pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open an investigation into then-former Vice President Joe Biden.

Horowitz delivered a report to the Department of Justice in late 2019 regarding the FBI investigation into possible connections between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. He found that the FBI had a basis for starting the probe, but at the same time, he criticized the warrant application to monitor Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

He added that then-FBI Director James Comey had violated department policy by writing secret memos regarding his meetings with Trump that subsequently reached the public eye. The Department of Justice chose not to prosecute Comey, to the fury of Trump, who later fired him.

The removals seemed to violate federal law, which requires Congress to be notified 30 days before the firing of any inspector general confirmed by the Senate (AP)

The firings of the inspectors open up the opportunity for Trump to install loyalists in positions that are supposed to identify fraud, waste and abuse.

The inspectors general were made aware of the firings by emails from the White House personnel director, telling them that they had been terminated immediately, people familiar with the measures told The Post.

The removals seemed to violate federal law, which requires Congress to be notified 30 days before the firing of any inspector general confirmed by the Senate.

Some of the departments and agencies affected by the firings include the departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Interior, Energy, Commerce and Agriculture, in addition to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Small Business Administration, and the Social Security Administration, according to The Post.

Most of those who were removed were appointees by Trump from his first term in the White House. Horowitz was appointed by President Barack Obama.

One inspector general told the paper the Trump administration “does not want anyone in this role who is going to be independent.”

“IGs have done exactly what the president says he wants: to fight fraud waste and abuse and make the government more effective,” the official added. “Firing this many of us makes no sense. It is counter to those goals.”

Collins: ‘I don’t understand’ Trump’s inspectors general firings

Alexander Bolton

THE HILL
Sat 25 January 2025 

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Saturday she didn’t understand why President Trump fired several departmental inspectors general late Friday night given that those positions are crucial to rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, one of the president’s stated goals.

“I don’t understand why one would fire individuals whose mission it is to root out waste, fraud and abuse. This leaves a gap in what I know is a priority for President Trump. So I don’t understand it,” Collins said while arriving at the Capitol for a Saturday morning vote.

Trump fired 17 government watchdogs at the Departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Housing and Urban Development and other agencies, catching GOP lawmakers by surprise.

“Somebody just mentioned to me downstairs as I was coming in, just heard about it,” said Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said he was aware of the move but needs to study it more carefully.

“I heard it, I have not looked at it and I don’t know what it all entails. Honestly, I would just be guessing at this point about what that actually entails. I’ll wait and find out what that means in terms of other people stepping in,” he said.

The surprise move drew strong criticism from Democrats.

“It’s part of his plan to undermine the functioning of the government of the United States so that there’s is no objective person that can make judgments about propriety of his actions,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee said of Trump’s action.

“Now he has a much freer pathway to avoid rules, regulations to essentially change the system from one of laws to one of his whims,” he added.

Reed said the Defense Department’s inspector general was responsive to lawmakers’ requests.

“I would give the IG a good grade. They’re very thorough. They have to be that way. When they rendered a report it was factual, accurate and untainted by political bias or any other bias,” he said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said independent inspectors general are “critical” to rooting out waste, fraud and abuse throughout the government.

“It is alarming that President Trump is firing inspectors general from agencies across the federal government, including the Department of Agriculture, removing critical checks on his power,” she said in a statement.

Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, declared that Trump is “systematically dismantling the protections against abuse, corruption and fraud within federal government.”

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 

Trump issuing ‘emergency 25% tariffs’ against Colombia after country turned back deportation flights

THINK OF THE PRICE OF A CUP OF COFFEE

Alejandra Jaramillo, Aaron Pellish and Priscilla Alvarez,

 CNN
Sun 26 January 2025 

President Donald Trump on Sunday announced retaliatory tariffs on Colombia after its president blocked US military deportation flights from landing, the first instance of Trump using economic pressure to force other nations to fall in line with his mass deportation plans since he took office last week.

Earlier in the day, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced he had blocked two US military flights carrying migrants heading toward the country and called on the United States to establish better protocols in its treatment of migrants. Petro also left the door open to receiving repatriated migrants traveling on civilian planes.

Following Petro’s announcement, Trump criticized him on social media while announcing a slate of new sanctions and policies targeting Colombia, including “emergency 25% tariffs” on all imports from the country that will be raised to 50% in a week, a “travel ban” for Colombian citizens, and a revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the US along with “all allies and supporters.”

Trump also ordered stricter inspections of cargo shipments arriving from Colombia, along with banking and finance sanctions and visa sanctions on “all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government.”

“These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Sunday statement that Colombian officials had approved two military flights carrying migrants to Colombia and then revoked the authorization once they were en route, as CNN reported earlier.

“Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and provided all needed authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air. As demonstrated by today’s actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America’s border security,” Rubio said in a statement.

CNN had previously reported Trump administration officials were surprised and frustrated when Petro said he was blocking US deportation flights from entering the country. Sources within the Colombian government were also caught by surprise by Petro’s post.

CNN has reached out to the Colombian government for comment.


Trump’s reaction to Colombia’s rejection of repatriated citizens marks the first major clash with another country over immigration issues since he began his second term.

“You can’t go out there and publicly defy us in that way,” a Trump administration official told CNN. “We’re going to make sure the world knows they can’t get away with being nonserious and deceptive.”

Later Sunday, Petro called on US citizens living in Colombia illegally to “regularize” their stay, without offering specifics. “American citizens who wish to do so can be in Colombia, I believe in human freedom,” he wrote on X, adding: “You will never see me burning a US flag or carrying out a raid to return handcuffed illegal immigrants to the US.” Petro also offered his presidential plane to help repatriate deportees from the US who were set to arrive in the country Sunday morning.

The US began using military aircraft to return recent border crossers back to their countries of origin last week. On Thursday, the US returned migrants to Guatemala using military planes.

White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday he expects military flights transporting deported migrants to continue daily, partly as a message to other nations.

The Department of Defense “has helped administrations before, but not at this level. So it’s a force multiplier, and it’s sending a strong signal to the world. Our border’s closed,” Homan told ABC News.

The US is also asking Mexico for help repatriating its nationals via land ports of entry along the US-Mexico border, though Mexico also appeared to turn around a military flight heading for the country last week.

Brazil joined Colombia on Sunday in condemning the Trump administration’s handling of repatriated migrants on deportation flights, denouncing the treatment of Brazilian nationals who arrived in the country Friday as “degrading.”

Brazilian authorities said they found 88 handcuffed deportees on a US flight headed to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, that landed in Manaus due to a “technical error.” Brazilian officials did not authorize the plane to continue on due to “the use of handcuffs and chains, the poor condition of the aircraft, with a faulty air conditioning system, among other problems,” and the migrants were transported to Manaus on a Brazilian Air Force flight.

Colombia is not a major trading partner with the United States, shipping roughly $14 billion worth of goods in 2023, the most recent full year of data according to Comtrade, an authority on trade data. Most of Colombia’s exports to the United States were minerals, oil, metals and coffee.

Coffee prices have shot higher over the past year, and this move by the Trump administration could eventually make prices even more expensive for American consumers. That’s because importers pay the tariffs and often pass the increased prices on to consumers.

Although tariffs can be an effective negotiating tool, they are generally disliked by economists, who believe they are inflationary and can ignite trade wars, which send prices even higher. That is not a universally held view, though. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, recently told CNBC that if tariffs help with national security and cause a little bit of inflation, then people should “get over it.”

But Trump has promised across-the-board tariffs on other countries as soon as this week if their goods aren’t manufactured in the United States. Those tariffs could dramatically boost prices for Americans.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon, Michael Rios, David Goldman, Omar Fajardo, Duarte Mendonça and Julia Vargas Jones contributed to this report.

Trump slaps sanctions after Colombia defies deportation push

Shaun Tandon with David Salazar in Bogota
Sun 26 January 2025 at 2:16 pm GMT-7·4-min read


Trump's threats to deport millions of migrants has put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home to many of the estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States (Douglas MAGNO) (Douglas MAGNO/AFP/AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, doubling down on his immigration crackdown as he sought to silence a chorus of defiance in Latin America.

Trump, back into office for less than a week, said he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on Colombian products that would rise to 50 percent in a week.

His authority to do so was unclear as Colombia, historically one of Washington's closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.

Trump also said he would immediately revoke visas for Colombian government officials and "supporters" of President Gustavo Petro -- and subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at airports.

"These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport foreigners unlawfully in the United States, but has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America's fourth-largest economy.

"The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants," Petro wrote on X.

In a later post, he said he had "turned back US military planes." Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.

The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport "with dignity" the migrants whose flights were blocked by Bogota.

Petro also said he was ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those aboard were not treated "like criminals."

In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Petro had authorized the flights but then "canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air."

The Colombian leader meanwhile said that more than 15,600 undocumented Americans were living in his country and urged them to "regularize their situation," while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.

The trip comes days before Rubio is set to visit Latin America -- but not Colombia -- on his first trip as top US diplomat.

He is also not scheduled to visit Mexico, which has been critical of the use of military planes for deportations.

- 'Tied hands and feet' -

Trump's deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States' estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday.

The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump's return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called "flagrant disregard" for their basic rights.

Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: "On the plane they didn't give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom."

"It was very hot, some people fainted."

TV footage showed some passengers descending from the civilian plane with their hands handcuffed and their ankles shackled.

Several deportation flights since Trump's return to office have garnered public and media attention, although such actions were also common under previous administrations.

In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for some repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

Several Latin American countries have vowed to welcome back citizens, many of whom have been living and working in the United States for years, with open arms.

The Mexican government said it planned to open nine shelters for its citizens and three more for deported foreigners, under a scheme called "Mexico embraces you."

President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government would also provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.

Honduras, a central American country that is also a large source of migrants to the United States, said it was launching a program for returnees entitled "Brother, come home," which would include a "solidarity" payment, food and access to employment opportunities.

das-sct/bfm/jgc

Trump announces 'retaliatory measures' after Colombia refuses to accept deported migrant flight

Sky News
Updated Sun 26 January 2025 




Donald Trump says he will retaliate with "urgent and decisive" measures after Colombia turned away two US military planes carrying deported migrants.

The US leader said Colombian president Gustavo Petro's action "jeopardised the national security and public safety of the United States" in a statement on Truth Social.

The retaliatory measures include 25% emergency tariffs on Colombian goods, a travel ban and visa sanctions on members and supporters of the Colombian government and enhanced border inspections on all Colombian nationals and cargo.

Existing financial sanctions will also be fully imposed, according to Mr Trump and in one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%.

"These measures are just the beginning," the president wrote.

"We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!"

His post was quickly followed by an AI-generated image showing the president in a fedora hat, alongside a sign reading FAFO, which usually stands for "f*** around, find out".

President Petro said Colombia would welcome home deported migrants if they came on civilian planes, saying they should be treated with dignity and respect.

"The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals," Mr Petro wrote on X, noting that there were 15,660 Americans without proper immigration status in Colombia.

Colombia's decision follows a similar one by Mexico, which refused a request to let a US military aircraft land with migrants on Thursday.

It was then confirmed to Sky's partner newsroom NBC that four deportation flights accepted by Mexico on Thursday were government-chartered flights, not military aircraft.

There is growing discontent in South American countries as Mr Trump's week-old administration begins mass deportations.

On Saturday, Brazil's foreign ministry condemned the "degrading treatment" of Brazilians after migrants were handcuffed on a commercial deportation flight.


Brazilian officials ordered the removal of the handcuffs when the plane landed and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva designated a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) flight to complete their journey, the government said in a statement on Saturday.

Using military aircraft to carry out deportation flights is a response to Mr Trump's national emergency declaration on immigration on Monday.

Although US military aircraft have been used in emergencies like the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, this is the first time in recent memory they've been used to fly migrants out of the country, one US official said.

Military aircraft carried out two similar flights, each with about 80 migrants, to Guatemala on Friday.

US officials did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

‘We’re watching mass delusion happen’: Trump’s return to White House brings cascade of lies

David Smith in Washington
Sun 26 January 2025

Donald Trump had been US president again for less than 15 minutes when he made his first factually dubious claim.

“The vicious, violent and unfair weaponisation of the justice department and our government will end,” he said early in his inaugural address. There is no evidence that former president Joe Biden ordered the justice department to prosecute Trump and no violence took place.

The return of Trump to the White House for his second presidential term is also the return of what one critic called “America’s liar-in-chief”. His first week in office brought a cascade of false and misleading claims about immigration, the economy, electric vehicles, the Panama Canal, his election defeat in 2020 and the January 6 insurrection that followed.

Some see the brazen embrace of mendacity as both habitual and strategic.

“It’s a continuation of Donald Trump’s brand,” said Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill. “He knows that sunlight is the best disinfectant so he’s going to continue to lie to mask what he’s doing. If you can undermine institutions and credible sources of information, you can get away with lying and deceiving people. We’re watching that mass delusion happen right before our eyes in the Trump administration 2.0.”

Related: The Guardian view on Trump’s first days: the overload is intentional | Editorial

During his first term as president, Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims over four years, according to a count by the Washington Post. He maintained a similar pace during last year’s presidential election campaign. On Monday, as he was sworn in for a second time at the US Capitol in Washington, he made clear it will be business as usual.

Trump said in his inaugural address the US government “fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world”. In truth there is no evidence other countries are sending their criminals or the mentally ill across the border.

The 47th president also promised to direct his cabinet to defeat “record inflation” and rapidly bring down costs and prices. Inflation peaked at 9.1% under Biden in June 2022 but has been much higher in other historical periods, such as a more than 14% rate in 1980.

In discussing his desire for the US to take back the Panama Canal, Trump said: “American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States navy. And, above all, China is operating the Panama Canal.” Officials in Panama have denied Trump’s claims that China is operating the canal and that the US is being overcharged.

Shortly after the inauguration ceremony, the onslaught against reality continued. In remarks to an overflow audience at the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall, Trump claimed: “2020, by the way, that election was totally rigged.” Authorities who reviewed the election – including Trump’s own attorney general – concluded the election was fair.

Trump alleged that then House speaker Nancy Pelosi “turned down the offer of 10,000 soldiers” on 6 January 2021, when a violent mob stormed the US Capitol. Yet he issued no such order or formal request for National Guard troops before or during the rioting.

The president asserted that Biden had pardoned “what is it, 33 murderers, absolute murderers, the worst murderers. You know, when you get the death sentence in the United States, you have to be bad.” Biden announced last month that he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row; a commutation is not a pardon and does not exonerate the person.

Trump continued to fire off misleading assertions, wild exaggerations and blatant lies all week in a series of freewheeling exchanges with reporters. In a Fox News interview in the Oval Office he sought to explain his blanket pardon of January 6 rioters by dismissing violent attacks on police as “very minor incidents”.

Trump also used the interview to repeat a false claim that California governor Gavin Newsom and other officials refused to provide water from the northern part of the state to fight fires. He falsely claimed that Newsom prioritised the preservation of endangered fish over public safety.

Even the White House website has been compromised. Among the claims on Trump’s official biography are that he won “a landslide victory” last year and he “defines the American success story”. But the site leaves out what might be Trump’s “big lie” that he won the 2020 presidential election, stating he “won a second time despite several assassination attempts and the unprecedented weaponization of law fare against him”.

But while fact-checkers continued to hold Trump to account, Republicans seemed less willing than ever to correct the record while rightwing influencers were eager to amplify his falsehoods in what is now a fragmented media ecosystem. The leaders of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and X attended his inauguration; Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that the platform will abandon third party fact-checking.

Kurt Bardella, a Democratic strategist and media relations consultant, said: “If there’s any lasting impact from Donald Trump’s time on the political stage it’s that we live in a world now where you can just make up your own facts and truth is how ever you decide to to bend it.

“There are content creators and content machines that exist solely for the purpose of laundering anything that Donald Trump says and making it true to a certain degree. It’s a play off the [Richard] Nixon quote: if the president does it, it is legal; well, if the president says it, it’s true. That’s the world that we live in now.”

Danish MEP tells Trump to ‘f*ck off’ over his threats to take Greenland

Basit Mahmood

23 January, 2025 
Left Foot Forward

'Let me put it in words you might understand – Mr. Trump, f**k off!'

A member of the European Parliament has told Donald Trump to “f**k off” following his words about Greenland, after the Republican President refused to rule out using military force to take over the autonomous Danish territory.

Trump has said that the U.S. should acquire Greenland for “international security,” reasons due to threats from Russia and China.

Trump has repeatedly said that the U.S. should take control of Greenland, calling an American acquisition of the Arctic island an “absolute necessity”.

He told reporters in the Oval Office: “Greenland is a wonderful place. We need it for international security. And I’m sure that Denmark will come along — it’s costing them a lot of money to maintain it, to keep it.”

Reacting to Trump’s comments in the European Parliament, Danish MEP Anders Vistisen said: “Dear President Trump, listen very carefully. Greenland have been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It’s an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale.”

He then said: “Let me put it in words you might understand – Mr. Trump, f**k off!”

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

‘We just can’t take the hit’: businesses worldwide brace as Trump threatens tariffs

Philip Wen

THE GUARDIAN
Sun 26 January 2025 

Gantry cranes and shipping containers at the Yangshan deep water port in Shanghai.

Photograph: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Donald Trump, a self-declared “big believer” in tariffs on foreign goods, has promised to use them to boost the US economy, revitalize America’s industrial heartlands, and reward the tens of millions of voters who sent him back to the White House.

“Come make your product in America,” the president told top executives gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, promising low taxes to those who take him up on the invitation. “But if you don’t make your product in America – which is your prerogative – then, very simply, you will have to pay a tariff.”


While Trump has repeatedly asserted that ‘tariffs’ is “the most beautiful word” in the dictionary, economists and US importers have warned that the consequences of his plan – if it’s enforced – will be ugly.

With the new administration threatening to impose sweeping new tariffs as soon as next month, exporters around the world are bracing for an era of disruption and uncertainty.

China

Philip Wen

Kam Pin Industrial was more or less able to shrug off the wave of tariffs it faced during Trump’s first administration.

The building products company makes industrial coatings and metal sheets in Dongguan, the southern Chinese industrial hub sometimes referred to as the “factory of the world” for its role in the manufacturing boom unleashed when China opened its economy to the world in the late 1980s and 1990s.

The ensuing surge in Chinese exports helped build the nation into a global economic force. Tariffs, Trump and his allies insist, can reverse this extraordinary rise – and make America wealthy again.

When Trump imposed a 25% levy back in 2018, however, Kam Pin’s products were still cheaper than those of its nearest rivals, in South Korea and Thailand. US property developers carried on buying – just at a higher cost.

Things are now less rosy. Its US orders have dried up this year, according to owner and managing director Danny Lau, amid a slump in demand in the residential and commercial building markets. China’s own economy also in the doldrums.

“This year is really poor,” said Lau. It might be about to get worse.

Trump has threatened an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods, which would bring Kam Pin’s costs level with South Korea.

An extra 25% would make even local US manufacturers price-competitive, Lau says. “Of course, any rise in tariffs will affect any products from China. It certainly will affect us.”

The president threatened Beijing with much higher tariffs on the campaign trail, layering uncertainty onto businesses like Kam Pin. “He could change at any time,” said Lau.


There is little such firms can do to mitigate the impact of measures mooted by Trump and his allies. “Even if you move your production line to south-east Asia,” said Lau, “he may start raising tariffs in those countries.”

Mexico

Mie Hoejris Dahl

Trump has threatened 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, unless the countries curb migration and drug trafficking to the US.

“There’s a lot of fear and uncertainty right now,” said the chief executive of one of Mexico’s largest automobile companies, who asked to remain anonymous, because “as businessmen, we don’t get involved in politics”.

But politics so often gets involved in business. Should Trump enforce his threatened tariffs on Mexico, the major car firm has calculated that overall Mexican car sales could drop by as much as 12%.


The auto industry is expected to take the hardest hit, said Diego Marroquín Bitar, a North America scholar at the Wilson Center. “The more you’re integrated, the more you’re exposed.”

When a car is manufactured, an auto part may have to cross the border several times – and pay the tariff each time.

Some sectors are less alarmed. “We don’t think much will happen,” said Andrea Urquiza Roiz, chief executive of ZimaFresh, a Mexican pepper and blueberries exporter, despite about 90% of her exports heading to the US.

In 2019, Trump threatened Mexico with blanket tariffs starting at 5%, which were averted after negotiations. Such experiences have led some business leaders to doubt Trump’s resolve. Urquiza sees Trump’s threats as empty, and believes even if agricultural tariffs are imposed, they would not last long due to the US’s inability to meet domestic demand.

Besides, Urquiza said, the agricultural sector is used to uncertainty, from climate to exchange rates and interest rates. “Last year, the exchange rate affected us a lot. Much more than these tariffs would. I lost about 30%.”


Both the car executive and the fruit exporter remain cautiously optimistic. “I think we’ll be fine,” Urquiza said.

But this time, Luis Manuel Pérez de Acha, a Mexican lawyer, warned, Mexico may misjudge the situation. “It only takes a signature for Trump to exit the USMCA,” he said, referring to the trilateral trade deal between the US, Mexico, and Canada that Trump renegotiated during his first term.

“This could choke the Mexican economy,” he said, noting that about 80% of Mexico’s exports go to the US.

UK

Sarah Butler

Last time Trump was in office, London’s Savile Row became a target for his administration’s tariffs.

In October 2019, every bespoke suit sold to the US from the UK was slapped with a 25% tax – part of a list of products targeted with duties in retaliation for the EU giving subsidies to plane-maker Airbus. The tariffs were in place until 2021, well into the Covid pandemic, by which time tailors, and many other businesses, were struggling with a host of other issues.

Huntsman, a Savile Row tailor established in 1879 and an inspiration for the Kingsman films, with an outlet in New York as well as London, chose not to pass on the cost of the duty to its clients.


Sales did not drop, according to Taj Phull, the firm’s managing director. “We had to absorb it so it didn’t reflect on to our customer,” he said. “It had an impact on operating profit in New York.”

The business was partly protected by the ease of travel between New York and London before the pandemic, when US visitors to the UK were able to claim back VAT on goods they took home and “customers wanted the shopping experience of Savile Row”, Phull said.

“We are a destination not an impulsive buy when you need a suit,” he added. “It is thought-through process for a lot of customers, whether an aspirational product someone has saved for, or a longstanding customer.”

Back in 2019, however, sales to the US were only about a quarter of the tailor’s business. Now they account for more like 40%, so such a tariff would have more of an impact.

Phull is nevertheless hopeful that the industry is not in Trump’s sights as a target for future tariff hits. “It was a weird thing when the Airbus tariff came out,” he said. “And I don’t see it being brought up again.”

Canada

Leyland Cecco

For months, Trump has goaded Canada with the threat of tariffs – and suggested one way it could avoid them. “You can always become a state,” he said last week, during his Davos appearance.

Canadian businesses reliant on American exports are drawing up contingency measures. One owner told the Guardian that his firm – which ships pet products into the US – would likely falsely mark down the costs of raw production. This would allow them to pay lower taxes, based a lower value material, rather than be forced to raise prices.

“I’ve run the numbers and we just can’t take the hit,” the owner said. “Is it a risk? Sure. But we’re backed in a corner here.”

The threat of tariffs has sent Canadian politicians and business scrambling for a response. So much of the country’s trade is tied to the US, and exporters are worried the tariffs will harm their prospects.

A recent survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that 65% of small businesses in the country will be forced to increase prices to offset the impacts of the trade levy; a new reality the industry group called “disastrous”.

In sectors where raising prices can be devastating to the margins of a business, some are looking to cut corners – at times, illegally – to avoid the worst of the tariff pain.

 

Energized neo-Nazis feel their moment has come as Trump changes everything

Ben Makuch

THE GUARDIAN
Sun 26 January 2025 


The neo-Nazi groups Blood Tribe and Goyim Defense League hold a rally in 2023 in Orlando, Florida.

Photograph: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images


One week into Donald Trump’s second administration and the verdict among far-right activists and neo-Nazis is that the next four years will be a time to relax, organize and take advantage of the popular awakening of American fascism.

“Be ready to cash out the next four years,” wrote one delighted neo-Nazi account on Telegram, in a post viewed more than 1,000 times. “Get the bag, infiltrate existing institutions with power, build new institutions while we have breathing room, and tear down anything leftist.”

During the Biden administration, which presided over an FBI that aggressively dismantled rightwing extremist groups of every ilk, along with the gargantuan January 6 investigations netting thousands of suspects, anxiety on the far right ran high.

Even in chatrooms online, major tech companies booted and reported them to authorities, while mainstream culture vilified their racist antics.

Related: Law enforcement joined meetings of far-right Oath Keepers, leak shows

But now, things are different. Elon Musk’s salute has been described in the media as merely an ill-timed gesture and Trump pardoned 1,500 people involved in the January 6 attack on day one of his presidency.

“The left is exhausted, extremely unpopular, and has been divested from by their tech bro backers,” the same post continued. “Now is the time to openly advocate for ourselves. Now is the time to go from defense and survival towards organizing and swift action.”

Among the accelerationist neo-Nazis, an extremist sect calling for acts of terrorism to bring down society, the feeling seems just as nonchalant. Their consensus is that while it’s not the moment to entirely come out of the shadows, it is a time to celebrate the end of a Democratic-controlled US government.

Posting on several social media apps, including the Kremlin-controlled VKontakte, the proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group the Base took the day of Trump’s inauguration to subtly flex, releasing a photo of four stateside members somewhere in Appalachia – the largest number of American members in one photo in over a year.

Not long ago, the Base seemed dead. It was the subject of a major nationwide FBI crackdown, seeing more than a dozen of its members arrested for a laundry list of terrorist activities across the US and Europe. But in 2025, their numbers aren’t shrinking.

Another prominent neo-Nazi and New England-based former member of the Base told his followers on Telegram to “see the opportunity” in the next four years.

“South Americans are crying at the border as the CPB1 app is shut down, refugee flights are already being cancelled, Border Patrol is lined up at points of entry,” he posted. “These are products of organized political will on the system.”

He continued: “Of course we can do better, and that’s exactly what I’m advocating for.”

Other groups went further, pushing their own xenophobic and anti-immigration dreams and seizing on activist tactics to do it.

The Aryan Freedom Network, a neo-Nazi political organization with chapters all over the country, urged members to “find companies that are hiring or harboring illegal aliens and reporting them to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE.

“In order for us all to stop the Great Replacement and to save the white working class jobs, every white nationalist must do their part to save white America!” it said, before posting contacts to Ice tip lines. “If you know of a company or individuals that is helping the Invaders, report them to the following links below.”

“Active clubs”neo-, which are neo-Nazi and racist mixed-martial arts collectives that have appeared at gyms and cities across the country, are also getting involved. Telegram posts affiliated with the movement have appeared from chapters in California, Tennessee, Arizona, Pennsylvania and other states in the US, declaring they will “pressure the incoming administration” to continue mass deportations.

“These groups see the next four years as a mix of positives and negatives but overall as an opportunity to enlarge their movement” said Joshua Fisher Birch, a terrorism analyst at the New York-based Counter Extremism Project.

“Extreme-right groups are focusing on mass deportations and seeking to win over potential recruits by concentrating on this issue.”
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But Fisher Birch did note that “their deep distrust of the government and extreme antisemitism has not gone away”.

For years, those on the far right have seen Trump as a race traitor and a man with Jewish grandchildren through his daughter Ivanka and her marriage to Jared Kushner.

Fisher-Birch pointed to a Telegram post from one of the more followed neo-Nazis on the app, often a tastemaker for other far-right posters, and their acknowledgement of Trump’s shortcomings.

“It is wise IRL to not alienate people that you can gradually bring to your side,” said the account in a post seen more than 2,000 times to its followers. “Yes, point out where he’s not doing enough for normies but also give some credit where credit is due.

“In order to awaken white racial consciousness we have to be one of the people and speak their language, and continually push the boundaries and Overton window further and further until one day it reaches the baseline we need for radical change.”

As for Musk and his now infamous salute on inauguration day, there is a mixed opinion of him and big tech in general among the far-right.

“Several groups are enjoying fascism being in the public sphere and what they view as liberal and leftwing panic and distress over Musk’s salute,” said Fisher-Birch. “Several others have noted that they have not benefited from the alliance with big tech and that major social media platforms are still removing their content.”

Even so, there seems to be little debate that Musk’s gesture was a “Roman salute” (code for a “Sieg Heil” among neo-Nazis).

Christopher Pohlhaus, an ex-Marine and leader of the Blood Tribe neo-Nazi group, proudly wrote to his followers about an X post showing a video of a Nazi salute from a member in his group, juxtaposed with a video of Musk’s identical gesture.

“14 million views on this one,” he posted, before applauding his group for owning “the Roman salute and the swastika” in the news.

“Musk claims he was making a gesture symbolizing how his heart ‘went out’ to the crowd,” another account in the same far-right ecosystem posted facetiously.

 

Zelenskiy says Trump could end Ukraine war only if Kyiv included in talks

By Max Hunder

Sat, January 25, 2025 

KYIV (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump could fulfil his promise to end the war in Ukraine, but only if he includes Kyiv in any talks, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday.

Zelenskiy also said the terms of any deal that might arise under Trump were still unclear - and might not even be clear to Trump himself - because Russian President Vladimir Putin had no interest in ending the war.

Trump, who took office on Monday, promised during his election campaign to end the war within his first 24 hours in the White House, without saying how. Aides have since suggested that a deal could take months.

Ending the war would not be possible unless Trump includes Ukraine itself in any negotiations, Zelenskiy told reporters alongside Moldova's president, Maia Sandu, a visiting ally.

"Otherwise it will not work. Because Russia does not want to end the war, while Ukraine wants to end it," he said.

In a separate interview broadcast later on Saturday, Zelenskiy said he believed Trump truly wanted to see an end to the war, nearing the three-year mark next month.

"For now, we don't know how this will happen because we don't know the details," Zelenskiy told Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was released this month after being detained for 21 days in Iran.

"I believe President Trump himself does not know all the details. Because I would say so much depends on what sort of just peace we can achieve. And whether Putin wants, in principle, to stop the war. I believe he doesn't want to."

Trump, he said, understood all the challenges associated with the peace process "and he is simply saying this has to end or it will get worse."

Trump has expressed willingness to speak to Putin about ending the war, a contrast with the outgoing administration of Joe Biden, who shunned the Russian leader.

Kyiv, long worried about the prospect of its fate being decided by bigger powers without its participation, has said it is working to arrange a meeting between Zelenskiy and Trump.

Addressing journalists earlier alongside Sandu, Zelenskiy said he believed European allies should also be included in any future peace talks.

"As for what the set-up of the talks will be: Ukraine, I really hope Ukraine will be there, America, Europe and the Russians," Zelenskiy said.

"Yes, I would really want that Europe would take part, because we will be members of the European Union," he said. Ukraine and Moldova both submitted applications to join the EU days after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

On Friday, Putin said he would like to meet Trump to talk about Ukraine. He cited a 2022 decree from Zelenskiy barring talks with Putin as a barrier to negotiations.

Zelenskiy said on Saturday he had introduced this ban to stop Putin from forming channels of communication with other groups in Ukraine, which he said Russia had attempted, particularly those advocating separatist views.

"I therefore took an absolutely fair decision," he said. "I am the president of Ukraine and the leader of these or any other talks and I banned all the others."

Zelenskiy also said Ukraine was ready to offer coal to Moldova, which is gripped by an energy crisis after flows of Russian gas through Ukraine stopped in the new year. Moldova accuses Moscow of refusing to send gas by other routes.

“Russia’s latest move has been to orchestrate an energy crisis," Sandu told reporters.

She said energy prices had shot up in areas controlled by her government, and the situation was worse in a region held by pro-Russian separatists who relied on Russian energy and were subject to daily power cuts.

Sandu said this was part of a calculated Russian strategy to sow chaos in Moldova and bring a pro-Russian government to power in Moldova.

(Reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv, Additional reporting by Alexander Tanas in ChisinauEditing by Ron Popeski, William Maclean, Peter Graff and Matthew Lewis)

The Nihilists Are Coming Back to Washington

Katherine Stewart
January 19, 2025·




With Inauguration Day around the corner, many people are wondering what kind of government we should expect over the next four years. Having spent much of the past autumn attending events with sectors of the hard-core members of the MAGA movement and tracking the activists and allies likely to have some influence, I have a short answer. But before I defend my all-in-one label for the incoming administration—spoiler alert, it’s in the title!—I’d like to offer some highlights from my recent travels and conversations.

First, victory has not put these folks in a gracious mood. Donald Trump ran on the promise of exacting vengeance on “the enemy within,” and his allies are more determined than ever to deliver. At last month’s AmericaFest, an annual conference organized by Turning Point USA, which drew some 20,000 attendees to the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona, Steve Bannon condemned the “cancer” of bipartisanship and promised, “We’re going to fix bayonets, and we’re going to advance.” In an earlier interview with Bannon, Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for the FBI, vowed to “go out and find the conspirators not just in government, but in the media” who supposedly “helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.” (That they won an election straight up has done little to disabuse these types that Biden’s electoral puppet masters maintain a tight hold of the strings.)

To that effect, Patel has reportedly drawn up an “enemies list” that includes employees from the Department of Justice as well as journalists. At AmericaFest, Jack Posobiec, still famous for sponsoring the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, was among those willing to name names of those who will soon face the wrath of government: Liz Cheney, Alvin Bragg, George Soros, Nancy Pelosi, and “the backstabbing snake RINOs in the House and Senate because if we catch any of you then all will be brought to accountability.”

Kari Lake, who lost her recent bid for senator from Arizona and has been tapped by the incoming president as director for Voice of America, put insufficiently loyal Republicans at the top of her hit list.

“We gotta win because they are trying to destroy our country,” she said. “And that means when President Trump is going there to implement his policies, we must destroy any person who is trying to stop those policies from making their way into our lives.” Sebastian Gorka, the incoming senior director for counterterrorism, echoed the need to punish disloyal Republicans and called the people convicted of felonies in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol “political prisoners.”

According to the people who now have control of the federal security apparatus, the gravest threat to America is fellow Americans, and the crowd was reassured that vengeance was coming.

Praising Kash Patel, Bannon told the audience, “He understands who needs to be investigated. The January 6 committee and the Biden White House.” He continued, “We’re going to investigate you, we’ll do it all above board, and you’re going to go to prison for a long time. Someone said Trump’s retribution will be the golden age,” he mused. “I want good, old-fashioned, Old Testament retribution.… and one last thing,” he added, closing his speech, “Trump 2028. MSNBC, Fuck you!”

It’s also worth noting that the people around Trump—rather predictably at this point—remain organized around “the leadership principle.” (I put this in quotes because, yes, I am translating from the original German.) Every policy and principle is contingent; what really matters is backing Donald Trump in whatever he wishes to do at that moment.

“The transformation of the Republican Party is not yet complete,” far-right activist Charlie Kirk said in his speech at the start of the conference. “If you are a Republican from a deep red state and you voted for Joe Biden’s nominees, and you’re giving Donald Trump a hard time about his nominees, we will primary you and remove you from office. And for all those red state senators out there, let this be a warning to you.” So, if Trump wants Tulsi Gabbard, a remarkably Assad- and Putin-friendly figure, to lead America’s intelligence services, well then, let it be so!

Trump’s control, within this sphere, extends not just to all levers of government but to the truth itself. When Trump declared that the 2020 election was stolen, speakers at religious-right conferences, pastor gatherings, and strategy meetings repeated the claim like a mantra. Now that the 2024 election was apparently not stolen—never mind! If Trump calls the January 6 assault on the Capitol a “day of love,” Kirk is there to say, more or less, that it was a day of prayer. President Joe Biden was “putting people in prison for going into the Capitol rotunda and praying,” Kirk told the Phoenix crowd.

The reference to prayer is apt because this movement is really a religious movement of sorts. Speaker after speaker at AmericaFest, starting with Kirk, gave credit to God for Trump’s win. Kirk was also quick to credit his own organization, which activated a robust pro-MAGA youth movement, chased after low-propensity voters, and mobilized thousands of conservative pastors across the country to bring out the vote.

Whether the religion of MAGA counts as Christianity, however, might be best left to the armchair theologians because many representatives of the movement have expressed hostility to Christianity as it is practiced in much of America today.

“I’ve made it my mission to eradicate ‘wokism’ from the American pulpit,” said Lucas Miles, the head of TPUSA Faith and the author of a book titled Woke Jesus: The False Messiah Destroying Christianity, from the main stage. According to Lucas, Christianity started to go south in “the late 1700s” and then “came in with the social gospel, came in with the historical Jesus movement. Came in with liberation theology and Black liberation theology.” Lucas claims to be working with a network of 3,500 churches on “a kind of a digital Nicene Creed and Council,” referencing a fourth-century synod that established the basic doctrines of Christianity. “We have to decide which Jesus we believe in,” he said.

On a panel titled “Faith in Action, Faith in America”—which was moderated by Rob McCoy, a pastor and longtime associate of Charlie Kirk who is well known for his engagement in right-wing politics—Shane Winnings, a pastor who heads up a resurrected version of the earlier men’s ministry Promise Keepers, agreed. “Promise Keepers needs to speak to issues of the day, and if we’re in an election season we need to tell people what’s demonic and what’s godly and how they should be voting,” he said to loud applause.

At the same panel, Eric Hayes, field representative with Turning Point Action, a spinoff of Turning Point USA that engages in more direct political activism, likewise took the view that non-MAGA Christians simply aren’t respecting their faith. “There is absolutely no biblical justification to vote Democrat,” he said.

This new MAGA religion has found a powerful recruiting tool in transgender issues, the movement’s new culture-war weapon of choice. Speaker after speaker appeared to suggest that the main policy goal of all Democrats everywhere is to promote gender-change operations on children. Whatever one may think about this issue, which pertains to a very small number of American adolescents, it is important to recognize that the movement’s fervid, ceaseless, and all-consuming preoccupation with it isn’t primarily motivated by a desire to reduce harm or save lives. (After all, as far as I could tell, there was no mention at this conference of gun violence, presently the leading cause of child deaths in America.) It is deliberately stoking discord and the politics of outrage to distract Americans from a reactionary agenda.

Much of the postelection analysis has centered on the notion that the election was a referendum on inflation. For a sector of the electorate, that was certainly the case. But if anyone thinks the MAGA movement is planning to effectively address the “pocketbook issues” facing ordinary Americans, this conference should serve as a wake-up call. There appeared to be few specifics on helping the American workforce; the sole worker-centered breakout session, titled “Blue Collar Conservatism: Pro-Worker Labor Policy and the Right to Work (National Right to Work),” was focused on union-busting. The other economic theme of note was bashing the “administrative state.” Getting government out of the way of billionaires remains the North Star of the MAGA economic ideology, and so the upward redistribution of wealth is likely to be the one sure bet in the coming administration. And as the wealthy get wealthier, it will be ordinary Americans left to contend with the negative externalities of rampant deregulation.

As the new administration takes office, what are we to make of the MAGA vision, as articulated by its most fervent advocates? They certainly aren’t “conservative,” given the apparent thirst for revolution. They aren’t “populist” because the policies they endorse will benefit plutocrats of all stripes: the cronies, the monopolists, and the producers of technology that are spreading untruths and fracturing community trust. I used to prefer “religious nationalist” or “Christian nationalist” as descriptors for this rough-hewn gathering, and I think that still describes an important sector of this movement’s leadership and constituency, as well as the political dynamic of which they make use. But perhaps it diminishes the primacy of sectarian politics in their religious ideology.

A better label might be reactionary nihilists. That’s what you call people who just want to blow it all up. It might also prove a handy guide in interpreting the actions of the incoming administration. As they roll out this or that policy initiative—invade Greenland, seize the Panama Canal, rename the Gulf of Mexico, impose tariffs here or there—don’t ask yourself, “What are they trying to build?” Ask yourself, “Who are they trying to hurt?” Or, alternatively, “What are they trying to destroy?”

With nihilists, too, it is important to set aside talk of “goals” and “reasons” for actions. The majority of their floated initiatives, like the annexation of Canada, are simply for show. The right question in these circumstances is: “For whom is this performance intended?”

Lastly, nihilists are not known as team players. When they’re not trying to deny the truth and destroy things, they tend to turn on one another. I can’t predict who will win the Trump administration’s coming internal power struggles, but if I were a betting person I’d put my money on the people with money—that is, the people with something to sell to the incoming government. The theocrats, too, are sure to be rewarded with power, along with payouts in the form of taxpayer subsidies to religious schools and institutions. As for legions of the MAGA faithful, they’re likely to get little more than the appearance of the vengeance they were promised.