The Scary Thing Trump Might Do on His Birthday

You can watch this episode of Right Now With Perry Bacon above or by following this show on YouTube or Substack.

Officials in Greenland are worried that President Trump will move forward on his push to increase the United States’s role there around the time of the president’s birthday on June 14, according to The New York Times. Elizabeth Saunders, a Columbia University political scientist who studies how American presidents make foreign policy decisions, says it would be highly unusual for the U.S. to telegraph its use of military action by designating a particular day. But in the latest edition of Right Now, Saunders argues that Trump’s foreign policy discussions don’t follow much logic or wisdom. Saunders says that Trump’s decision to attack Iran and his bellicose approach to Greenland and Cuba reflect the ease at which the U.S. overthrew the Maduro government in Venezuela. The president seems to think the American military can quickly accomplish any of his goals. But the Iran war has been much more complicated. Saunders argues that Trump’s choices in Iran are either “humiliation” (reaching a deal that will allow Iran to maintain some kind of nuclear program and keep its current regime in power) or “confrontation” (further escalating the war and maximizing casualties to force the Iranian government to concede to more American demands.) Saunders says some sort of U.S. military action in Cuba seems inevitable, but she’s not entirely sure how Trump will handle Greenland.