Donald Trump sent JD Vance to Greenland to insult them – and he wouldn’t rule out using the military to take the island by force – and he didn’t even wear a tie
Donald Trump has declared this Tuesday “Liberation Day”.
That’s when all of his tariffs, including the already announced 25% on all foreign made cars, trucks and vans, will kick in.
There are also expected to be “reciprocal” tariffs on goods from countries where Trump considers here has been a “trade imbalance” with the US. Meaning the US imports more from those countries than it exports.
Trump reckons this will force other countries to buy more US products, and encourage Americans to buy more homegrown products.
But given the US consumes, far, far more than it actually manufactures, the most likely consequence is going to be higher prices for US residents and turmoil for economies around the world.
But that’s not the only thing going on in Trump world.
He’s still got his sights on Greenland, so much so that he sent JD Vance there to insult them.
Elon Musk has been buying votes again.
And Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth got his words in a twist.
Here’s the wildest things the Trump White House did in the last 24 hours.
1. Trump claims most countries agree with him on tariffs and many have apologised
Trump yesterday old reporters many leaders of other countries agree with his argument on tariffs.
“Many of them actually apologise. They said, ‘Look, we have taken advantage.”
Not a lot to add to this, other than that he didn’t name the leaders and it’s obviously a lie.
Asked if Americans should buy their cars now to avoid higher prices from his 25% tariffs, the president suggested they had little reason for concern.
“No, I don’t think so,” Trump said about people pulling forward their auto purchases.
Trump is betting that his tariffs will cause the U.S. economy to boom. But his threats of multiple tariffs, with autos being just the latest example, have caused consumer sentiment to slump as people fear higher prices and fewer job opportunities.
Worth remembering that the auto tariffs don’t just apply to new cars, but to car parts as well.
So if you’ve got an Audi and need a part from Germany, you’ll be paying it already.
2. JD Vance didn’t rule out invading Greenland by force, and he didn’t even wear a tie
Vice President JD Vance took a trip to Greenland, which is owned by NATO ally Denmark, criticised the government and repeated Trump’s intention to own it by hook or by crook.
“Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people in Greenland,” he told troops at a US “Space Base” on the island.
He went on to complain about the weather, and not rule out invading and conquering Greenland by force.
“The President has said clearly he doesn’t think that military force is going to be necessary…” he said.
“…but he absolutely believes that Greenland is an important part of the security not just of the US but of the world and of course the people of Greenland too … this has to happen.”
Should be noted that Vance’s wife, Usha, was previously planning to go there on her own, and attend a dogsled race. When that news went down EXCEPTIONALLY POORLY with the people of Greenland, it became a visit to a US base…only. Nowhere else.
I’m not saying they weren’t welcome there, but…oh actually, yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying.
Vance gave his speech wearing a natty black zip-up thermal. Dude didn’t even put on a suit to go to another country and disrespect its leaders. Imagine.
3. Oh and Putin says Trump is serious about Greenland
Speaking at an event in Russia, Vladimir Putin said it would be a “mistake” to think Trump is just being funny about Greenland.
“It would be a great mistake to believe that this is just some eccentric talk of the new American administration.
“Nothing of the kind in fact … let me remind you that by 1869 the American papers laughed at the purchase of Alaska. The deal was called a folly.”
4. Wall Street crashed, presumably because they’d got tired of winning
The Dow Jones was down 722 points at the close of markets yesterday – as a toxic mix of worsening inflation, a slowing US economy …and people being afraid to spend money because they fear Trump is about to launch into a trade war on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 dropped 2% for one of its worst days in the last two years. It thudded to its fifth losing week in the last six after wiping out what had been a big gain to start the week.
A report yesterday showed all types of U.S. consumers are getting more pessimistic about their future finances.
Two out of three expect unemployment to worsen in the year ahead, according to a survey by the University of Michigan.
That’s the highest reading since 2009, and it raises worries about a job market that’s been a linchpin keeping the U.S. economy solid.
A separate report also raised concerns after it showed a widely followed, underlying measure of inflation was a touch worse last month than economists expected. It followed reports on other measures of inflation for February, but this is the one the Federal Reserve pays the most attention to as it decides what to do with interest rates.
5. Elon’s buying votes again
Elon Musk is trying to buy votes again – and this time he might get in trouble.
During the election he set up a group and promised to pay a million dollars a day to people who signed a petition “supporting the first and second amendments” (free speech and guns).
Participants were required to give all their personal information, and be registered to vote in certain target states to qualify.
There were legal challenges, which suggested he was bribing people to register to vote, and effectively paying people to sign up to Trump’s propaganda feed. All of which is true – and he spent $277 million on it, making him one of the largest individual political donors in recent history.
This time, he’s got his sights set on a Supreme Court race in Wisconsin.
In a since-deleted post on Twitter, which is what everyone still calls X, he offered $1m each to two voters in the race, “in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.”
The cheques would be handed out at a speech to be delivered by Musk in the state tonight, which was only open to people who had already voted.
See, thing is, it’s illegal in Wisconsin (and in most places) to pay people to vote – even if you don’t pay them to vote a particular way.
Wisconsin’s state attorney sued Musk yesterday afternoon to block him from handing out the cash.
Musk deleted the post, and later changed his tune – saying entrance was only for people who had signed a petition expressing their opposition to “activist judges,”
Earlier this month, his political action committee offered Wisconsin voters $100 to sign the petition.
Why is Wisconsin so important? The election, to take place on Tuesday could swing a divided court, in a key swing state where decisions could have implications across the country on issues like abortion rights, election laws and constituency boundaries.
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6. Elon also moaned that being in Trump’s White House is bad for business
“It’s actually disadvantageous for me to be in the government, not advantageous,” Elon Musk said in an interview with (who else?) Fox News.
“If I wasn’t in the government, I could lobby and I could push for things that are advantageous to my companies, and probably get it — probably receive them.”
“A bloo bloo bloo. Isn’t it awful when actions have consequences” – is what we would be saying, if Musk wasn’t – very obviously – still lobbying and pushing for things that are advantageous to his companies, and getting them.
7. And finally, Pete Hegseth demonstrated why he was paid the big bucks on Fox
Visiting the Philippines, the Defence Secretary didn’t even bother checking the pronunciation of the islands he was discussing.
