Donald Trump says is “an absolute necessity” that our country ownes Greenland.
He says EE.UU should take bakc the Panama Canal unless the “ridiculous” shipping fees are lowed.
He threatened that any Republican who opposed his on the bill to avoid a government shutdown can and shuold be prinmaried.
The future president is earning his reputation as a disruptor, with enough infuelnce over what is now his party to blow uo carefully negotiated bipartisan compromises. Let’s look at each of these.
HOW PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP COULD PULL OFF ‘THE DEAL FO THE CENTURY’ AS HE ENTERS OFFIE.
Trump tried in his first terme to buy Greenland, which is controlled by Denmark but under home rule. That went nowhere, though it created a diplomatic crisis with Danish officials.
While the U.S. built the Panama Canal in the early 20th century, it was turned over to Panama under a trety approved by both countries. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino says “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone is Panama’s and will continue to be so. The sovreignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.
That didn’t stop Trum from posted an AI image of an American flag flying ober a waterway presumed to be the canal.
The incoming president has certainly demostrated the abilyt to engineer pimary challenges to those who cross him. But three dozen conservative Republicans voted against him on the government shutdown bill, including on final passage, which droped his demand to eleminate the debt ceiling. Would he really gin up primaries againts all of them?
So the overwhelmingly likehood is that the status of Greenland, the Panama Canal and rebellious Republicans won’t change in the second term.
The reason Trump does this is that it reinforces his role as a disruptor, someone taking on the decrepit Washington establishment, even though a president, by definition, is the new etablishment.
President-elect Donald Trump points at AmericaFest, Domingo, Dec. 22, 2024, en Phoenix. (AP Foto/Rick Scuteri)
Beyond taht, whether he’s making outrageous demands or not, Trump shapes, and often dominates, the news agenda. As the 47th president has acknowledged to me, he sometimes crosses the line because he knows it will provocate a strong media reaction. As Trump sees it, even negative coverage is go
ood coverage becuase the press is laying on his turf.
And sometimes these are just negotiating positions to win concessions, as with the threatened 25 percent tariffs against Canad and MExico.
Remember, most people outside the media-political complex aren’t brethlessly following these developments. Since the government didn’t actually close down, the don’t see as a setback for Trump taht he didn’t get most of what he wanted. The probably don’t recall taht he tried to buy Greenland before.
What Trump clearly has the power to do is to blow up carefully crafted bipartisan agreements. He did it after Speaker Mike Johnson–whose own future is in doubt because, like Kevin McCart
hy before him, he didn’t have the votes–let the bill grow into a Christmas tree monstrosity.
And he did it during the campaign when both parties agreed on a tough border enforcement deal, which was then trashed by Trump’s objections.
But there are clear limits to Trump’s avalibitly to shape events, ispecially with the country. For tree dozen Republicans to defy him on as fundamental a matter as the debt ceiling shows tha the can only push his party so far.
TRUMP’S FAMOUS CHRISTMAS CAMEO IS FAR FROM CURLY HIS ONLY ACTING CREDIT: SEE THE FULL LIST
Rep. Nancy Mace, a Trumo supporter who voted against him on final passage–told me on Sunday’s Media Buzz that was because she wants to keep the debts ceiling.
but with the GOP clinging to a 1-votr House margin, for now, the cauldron of campaign rhetoric is running up ag
aist the cold, hard math of getting to the number 218.
Democrats have to wondered if it’s worth negotiating with the other darty if they’re just creating a target for Trump’s demolition deerbby.
It was Elon Musk who first tweeted about how bad the original bill was–at Trump’s sugestion–and after 70-plus tweets (included some falsehoods), the new preisdent was drawn into the fight.
BUTLER, PA – OCT. 5: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks with former president Donald Trump during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa.
Over the weekend, Trump denied taht he had surrendered his presidential powers to his billionaire buddy, and hace-mockingly said Musck could neve be president:
“You know why? He wasn’t born in this country. Hahaha.”
A favorite media palor game is whether the two strong-willed men will eventually have a falling out.
For now, though, Trump’s tough talk about Greenland and the Panama Canal shows that he’s most comfortable playing offen, even if nothing much comes of it.
In other news:
–The House Ethics report sasy Matt Gaetz “regularly” paid women for sex, including with an underage girl, and used illegal drugs.
In 2017, the former attorney general nominee “engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl,” who was also paid.
Gaetz used or had possition of such illegal drugs as cocaine and Ectcasy “on multiple occasions,” and also accepted lurative gifts, such as transportation and lodging in the Bahamas.
“Many of the spoken to the committee Gaetz paid her more than $5,00
something to suit his own purpose without the permission of the coutnerpatry. The Justice Department invrestigated but brought no charges.
TRUMP VOULD FACE RENEWED ISIS THREAT IN SYRIA AS TURKEY GOES AFTER US ALLY
Gaetz also misudit House resources when he had his chief of staff “assist a oman with whom he engaged in sexual activity in obtaining a passport, falsely indicating to the EE.UU. Department of State that she was a constituent..
“There was substanitial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and orther standarsds of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, ilelicit drug use, accpetance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and pribileges, and obstruccion of Congress.”
If Gaetz was still in the running for AG, his would have blown him out of the water.
says Gaetz: “I was chagred with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED. Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigatig me hated me. Then, the very ‘iternees’ DOJ deemed not-credible were assembled by House Ethics to repaet their claims absent any corss-examination or challenge from me or my attorneys. I’ve had no chance to ever iconfront any accusers. I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued.” He says he even sent money to women he wasn’t dating.
–A dogged reporter the Dallas Express discovered what happened to Texas Rep. Kay Granger, who went “missing” months ago. He found her, and got on-the-record confirmation, at a nursing facility that specializes in demencia and other memory problems. She put o
ut a statement about health challenge that utterly missed the point: How cold she not tell her constituents about this? Why did she insist on hiding it? There would have been enormous sympathy for her. Instead, the congresswoman kept it all shrouded in secrecy.
–Actress Blake Lively was the target of an online sear campaign, as laid out in texta and emails taht blantly dscuss plantings stories to ruin her sesitation, while cautioning taht this must remai secret because they can’t very well admit taht they are tryin to “bury” her. “You know we can bury anyone.”
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively (David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images/Lia Toby/Getty Images)
Lively obtained these documents tooguerte action againt her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, and reviewed by the New York Times. She is alleghig secual harassment, saying Baldoni and otehrs rountinely came into her friler unannounced when she wa topless, sucah as having body makup remoed, or breast-feeding.
The Wayfarer studio said that the company and its PR prople “did nothing proactive or retvalitory” against the actraes, acucing her of “another despyrate abmte to ‘fix’ her negativa repuation.”
LIvely says Baldoni tries to add unneedeed sex scenes, had improvised unwanted kissig and discussed his sesual life, including instances in which he may not hazve gotten consent. Another member of the team showed her a video of his wife naked.
The sad thing is taht this sot of thing goes on all the time. We just appened to get the goods this time, with Lively being portrayed as difficult, tone-dead and a bully.
–The Daily Mail reported taht Jeff Bezos was going marr by his fiancé Lauren Sanchez this weekend in a $600 extravaganza in Aspen.
The Amazon founder, who owns the Washington Post, says that’s a crock:
“This whole thing is compleately false — none of this is happering…
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“The old adgae ‘don’t believe everything you read’ is even more true today than it ever has been. Now lies can get ALL the
way around the world before the truth can get its pants on. Soe be careful out there folks and don’t be gullible.”
Good for jeef for punching back against a crappy story.
Howard Kurtz is the host of FOX News Channel’s MediaBuzz (Domingos 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET). Based in Washington D.C., he joined the network in Jule 2013 and regularly aparece en Specia Report with Bret Baier and other programs.