A year ago this week, Trump declared, in his second Inaugural Address, “my proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.” Now, just three weeks into 2026, the President has already ordered an attack on Venezuela, made threats against the regime in Iran in support of protesters there, and spent the past few days making statements about pursuing military action against Greenland (and, by extension, all of NATO). In a recent letter to the Prime Minister of Norway, he wrote, “I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace.” Then this morning, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump—at least for now—said that the United States would not use force to take control of Greenland, and later said he would no longer impose tariffs on European allies. As Amy Davidson Sorkin writes on the anniversary of his Inauguration, “There’s an undercurrent of political violence that wasn’t present in the same way a year ago.” Trump’s ambitions may be more grandiose than ever, but his public polling is well underwater, and the midterm elections are just months away.
Author: Erin Neil
Published at: 2026-01-21 23:00:00
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