Trump’s Critics Are Falling Into an Obvious Trap

This is a good read by David Frum in The Atlantic on the fallout from Trump’s Venezuela action today. Read it here Trump’s Critics Are Falling Into an Obvious Trap – The Atlantic

I have to say that I also thought about the potential for what this means down the road for the hemisphere.

… Military action in Venezuela today without allies may prefigure action tomorrow against allies—for example, to invade and annex Greenland. The big strategic idea of the second Trump administration is that major powers are entitled to dominate their neighbors: Russia to dominate Ukraine, China to dominate its neighborhood, and the U.S. to rule over Venezuela, Greenland, Panama, and ultimately Canada—Trump’s desired “51st state.”

…

… Trump thrives on the ineffectiveness of his opponents. The military operation in Venezuela is a warning that Trump’s imperial ambitions are growing. He’s building himself a triumphal arch in Washington. He craves gaudy acts to justify his monument to himself. He announced his operation first on his own wacky social-media platform, then on a phone call to Fox—as if his fan base were the only part of the nation to whom the president owed an explanation for his actions. Trump’s ego poses clear and present dangers to American democracy and American world leadership. An ineffective anti-Trump movement is an indulgence American democracy cannot afford or accept.

Source: The Atlantic

And before people dismiss this thought, consider what Trump had to say about Mexico in his press conference. See After capturing Maduro, Trump ramps up pressure on Mexico