Trump’s Rage at Canada Just Got Worse—and Putin Is Quietly Celebrating
Feb 11, 2025
auto_awesome
International relations professor Nicholas Grossman joins to discuss Trump's alarming ambitions regarding Canada, suggesting a push to make it a "51st state." He highlights how Trump's threats, particularly tariffs, please Putin by creating rifts in NATO. The conversation underscores the implications of Trump's foreign policy choices, revealing how they not only strain U.S.-Canada relations but also position authoritarian regimes for strategic advantage. Grossman connects these moves to a broader reshaping of international order, raising concerns over global alliances.
Trump's desire to make Canada a '51st state' signifies a troubling shift in U.S. foreign policy that may embolden adversarial nations like Russia.
The potential gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development threatens global democracy and human rights while strategically undermining America's influence abroad.
Deep dives
AI Capabilities of the Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra features advanced AI capabilities that allow users to manage daily tasks seamlessly. For instance, users can ask the device to find nearby restaurants that fit specific dietary preferences, such as keto, and even send that information to friends through text messages, all hands-free. This functionality illustrates how such technology can help integrate healthy habits, like working out, into busy lifestyles by enabling better planning with minimal effort. The ability to perform these tasks also highlights a growing reliance on AI to facilitate everyday living.
Political Landscape Changes with Trump
Trump's recent statements and actions indicate a significant shift in the U.S.'s political relationships, particularly with Canada and globally. He has alluded to a desire to absorb Canada as the 51st state, a notion that demonstrates a potential realignment of U.S. foreign policy, which delights leaders like Vladimir Putin. This perspective not only reflects a misunderstanding of trade dynamics but also threatens the fragile alliances that have historically benefited the U.S. on the global stage. Such comments signal a departure from cooperative diplomacy and may weaken the United States' position internationally.
Impact of USAID Cuts on Global Relations
The push to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) threatens to undermine democracy and human rights advocacy globally. USAID plays a crucial role in promoting American values and supporting strategic interests through various democratic initiatives, particularly in authoritarian regimes. When this agency is challenged, it not only diminishes U.S. influence abroad but also emboldens adversarial states like Russia and China, who view these funding cuts as opportunities to consolidate their power. The current trajectory suggests an intentional fracturing of the Western alliance, which could lead to geopolitical instability.
In an interview on Fox News, President Donald Trump angrily signaled that his goal of making Canada into a “51st state” is “real” while ranting that Canada is supposedly taking advantage of us. Whatever Trump actually intends, Vladimir Putin has been cheering on Trump’s various threats toward Canada, especially the threat of tariffs. Russia is also happy about Elon Musk’s efforts to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development. We talked to international relations professor Nicholas Grossman, who explains why Trump’s rising anger at Canada is alarming even if he doesn’t fully intend to send in troops. Grossman also details how all these moves show that Trump is signaling a genuine repositioning of the U.S.’s place in the international order—and why this repositioning has Putin so gleeful.