Why Trump Focuses on Symbolic Foreign Moves

Kat Rosenfield offers a psychological take: Trump pursues legacy, spectacle, and desires things he is told he cannot have.

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Transcript

Episode notes

This week, editors Peter Suderman and Matt Welch are joined by novelist and Reason contributor Kat Rosenfield and head of media for the Institute of Economic Affairs Reem Ibrahim to assess the mounting confrontation between the United States and its European allies over Greenland. Trump's tariff threats, talk of national security emergencies, exchanges between world leaders, and speculation about military force have pushed an unusual territorial dispute into the center of trans-Atlantic politics. The group considers what the confrontation means for NATO and trade policy with Europe.

The conversation then turns to Minnesota, where masked federal agents continue detaining and harassing people in the aftermath of the Renee Good killing, prompting legal battles, disputes with state officials, and concerns about civil liberties. They also examine Trump's newly announced health care plan and what it signals about his domestic policy priorities. A listener then asks whether libertarians have any reason to want Greenland as part of the United States.

0:00—U.S. maneuvering to acquire Greenland

08:22—Trump's relationships with Russia and Europe

24:09—ICE confrontations spark unrest in Minnesota

40:32—Listener question on libertarian desires for Greenland

45:51—Trump's health care proposal

55:47—Weekly cultural recommendations