Team Trump Promises ‘Shock and Awe.’ Do They Know What That Means?
Plus: From Russia, Dreams of Greenland
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MARK HERTLING: Team Trump Promises ‘Shock and Awe.’ Do They Know What That Means?
THE MEMO HAS CLEARLY GONE OUT: The phrase the incoming Trump administration is using to describe its opening days is “shock and awe.” Tom Homan, the incoming designated border czar, when asked during an interview on ABC what illegal immigrants should expect, repeated “Shock and awe” twice, with a smile. Sen. John Barrasso said the new president would initiate a “blizzard of executive orders” on the economy and border security, creating “shock and awe.” Fox News host Bret Baier said the administration’s strategy had been described to him as “shock and awe.” Each time I hear that phrase, I suppress a smile—or maybe a grimace. I remember the first time I heard it, and I know well the experiences of those in the military who had to execute that concept. To put it diplomatically: Initial intensity without long-term planning and coordination will likely not result in desired outcomes. It’s easy to talk about, harder to execute.
NICHOLAS GROSSMAN: Allies Are Assets, You Idiots
BEFORE HE’S EVEN IN OFFICE, Donald Trump is threatening America’s foreign partners. The United States, he says, will buy or take over Greenland (which is officially part of Denmark and doesn’t want to sell), turn Canada into the fifty-first state, and (re)take the Panama Canal.
He’s doing it in the “just joking (or maybe not)” style of internet trolls, which gives the troll an out—“I’m just kidding, lighten up”—while also laying the groundwork for future action if he decides that, actually, he wasn’t kidding. Does he really mean it? And if so, to what extent, intending which actions? Chances are he himself doesn’t know, and hasn’t put much thought into it. But whatever the level of seriousness, it harms U.S. interests.
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CATHY YOUNG: From Russia, Dreams of Greenland
THERE HAS BEEN RAMPANT SPECULATION about the “real” reasons for Donald Trump’s declarations about acquiring Greenland by economic or even military means—is it for national security? Natural resources? Or because of China? One underconsidered possibility is that he’s acting out a fantastic vision from a Russian satirical novel published in 2015.
SONNY BUNCH: 'Robbie Williams' vs. 'Drug Monkey'
Way back in 2024 after the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black bombed in the United States, I quipped that it shouldn’t be surprising American audiences had no interest in a movie about a one-hit wonder that was marketed as if it were Bohemian Rhapsody. Which is to say, the marketing mistakenly leaned on the musician’s hits as a draw to get people into the theaters. After getting some pushback from outraged Europeans—she was a bigger deal there than here—I quipped that it made about as much sense as opening a movie about Robbie Williams on 2,000 screens here.
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