BREAKING — Europe Strikes Back—€93 Billion in Retaliatory Tariffs Ready
Eight NATO allies unite against Trump. "Europe will not be blackmailed," says diplomat. And a never-used weapon aimed directly at US Big Tech.
While others stenograph, grift, or chase the next distraction—this is the news that matters and how it’s connected.
Europe has had enough.
After Trump announced 10% tariffs on eight NATO allies for refusing to hand over Greenland, the EU isn’t backing down. They’re loading the guns: €93 billion in retaliatory tariffs, ready to fire.1 Emergency meetings. An extraordinary European Council summit. And the “anti-coercion instrument”—a never-before-used weapon that can restrict American companies, including Big Tech, from operating in Europe.¹
“Pure mafioso methods.” That’s how a European diplomat described Trump’s tactics.¹ They’re responding in kind.
The Unified Response
Eight countries—Denmark, UK, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands, and Finland—issued a joint statement calling Trump’s tariffs a threat that could “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”2 This isn’t a polite disagreement. This is NATO allies standing together against the United States.
EU ambassadors convened an emergency meeting Sunday in Brussels.¹ European Council President António Costa announced an extraordinary summit later this week.¹ The European Parliament has already frozen a planned vote that would have reduced tariffs on American goods.¹
Individual leaders didn’t mince words. UK’s Starmer called tariffing allies “completely wrong” and told Trump directly.3 France’s Macron: “unacceptable.”4 Sweden’s Kristersson: “We will not be blackmailed.”² Norway’s Støre: “Threats have no place among allies.”² Denmark’s Frederiksen: “Europe will not be blackmailed.”²
Even Republicans are breaking ranks. Rep. Mike Turner told CBS that “there certainly is no authority that the president has to use military force to seize territory from a NATO country.”² Former Vice President Mike Pence called it “a questionable use of constitutional authority.”⁴
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s defense was telling: Europe is “too weak” to guarantee Greenland’s security, he said.¹ Too weak. That’s how this administration talks about allies who’ve bled beside us for decades.
“You Asked Us to Go. We Went.”
Henrik Bager is a Danish soldier who served with Americans in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Danes in his unit died in Helmand Province. Trump’s response to their sacrifice? Taunting Denmark for relying on “two dog sleds” to defend Greenland.⁴
“First time you get disappointed, then you get angry, and then you start feeling sad, you know?” Bager told the New York Times. “I can’t remember when we haven’t been with you. You asked us to go. We went.”³
For decades, Denmark has bled alongside us on the battlefield—at times more than us, per capita. Now Trump is punishing them for refusing to be blackmailed.
The Reason
Why does Trump want Greenland so badly? He told the New York Times: “That’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success.”³
Read that again. Not national security. Not strategic necessity. Psychologically needed.
Adam Price created “Borgen,” the Danish political drama that became an international hit. He said if he’d pitched a storyline where an American president threatened to take Greenland from Denmark “one way or another”—Trump’s exact words—”I would have been laughed out of the pitching room.”³
“They would have said, ‘It’s too much, it is too crazy,’” Price said. “I mean, you wouldn’t have an American president that would actually threaten a NATO ally.”
And yet.
The Human Cost
In Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, shopkeepers report surging sales of survival gear—camping stoves, freeze-dried meals, long-life food.⁴ People are preparing. For what, they’re not entirely sure. One in four residents of the capital marched Saturday against American annexation.⁴
“I think Trump has lost his mind,” prosecutor Lars Pedersen said.⁴ A pensioner named Jens Kjeldsen was more colorful: “It’s a bit like a spoiled child turned old. We’re not scared. We’ll fight them to the end and we will never give in.”⁴
Greenlanders are having trouble sleeping. They’re buying emergency supplies. They’re marching in the streets—because an American president needs Greenland for his psychological success.
Meanwhile, Greenland’s Prime Minister made the choice clear: “If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark.”³
The Real Question
Remember “Sleepy Joe”? The guy Republicans said was too old, too confused, too mentally diminished to lead? Democrats agreed. They pushed him out of the race.
Now we have Demented Don—readying 1,500 troops to deploy against Americans in Minneapolis while starting a trade war with our closest allies that could shatter NATO. He admits he needs Greenland for his psychological success. European diplomats describe his tactics as “mafioso methods.” Even his own party is calling his threats unconstitutional.
Democrats had the spine to push out their compromised leader. Do Republicans? Or are they as demented—or as traitorous—as the man they serve?
The Call
This isn’t an isolated incident. We track stories like this using the fascism syndrome—ten indicators that a democracy is sliding into fascism—so you don’t lose the thread in the daily chaos:
Aggression as virtue: Economic warfare against allies. Military threats against NATO territory. Tariffs as punishment for refusing to surrender sovereignty.
Cult of the leader: Policy driven by what Trump “psychologically needs for success”—his words.
War on reality: A pre-coordinated military exercise reframed as a threat to “Global Peace and Security.”
Extort allies. Punish loyalty. Manufacture enemies from friends. That’s not foreign policy. That’s the behavior of a regime that sees dominance as the only measure of strength. That’s fascism.
But naming the disease is only half the job.
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Fighting Fascism: How We Push Back and Win — The strategic playbook for reclaiming power
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The Freedom Illusion — How we got here, and the counter-ideology that gets us out
Henry Foy and Mercedes Ruehl, “EU readies €93bn tariffs in retaliation for Trump’s Greenland threat“, Financial Times, January 18, 2026.
Reports on the EU’s emergency response to Trump’s tariff threats, including the €93 billion retaliation package and consideration of the never-before-used anti-coercion instrument. Documents an emergency meeting of EU ambassadors and quotes a European diplomat describing Trump’s tactics as “pure mafioso methods.” Captures the administration’s position through Treasury Secretary Bessent’s claim that Europe is “too weak” to guarantee Greenland’s security.
Willem Marx, “European leaders warn Trump’s Greenland tariffs threaten ‘dangerous downward spiral’“, NPR, January 18, 2026.
Documents the unprecedented joint statement from eight NATO countries condemning Trump’s tariff threats. Captures the unified European pushback with quotes from British, Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish leaders refusing to be “blackmailed.” Notes that even Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Mike Turner, have criticized the approach as damaging to NATO cohesion.
CNN Staff, “Trump administration latest: EU ambassadors hold emergency meeting after US tariff threat over Greenland“, CNN, January 18, 2026.
Live coverage of European response to Trump’s tariff threats. Documents emergency EU ambassador meeting, UK Prime Minister Starmer’s direct call with Trump calling the tariffs “wrong,” and French President Macron describing them as “unacceptable.” Reports on Greenlanders buying survival gear in anticipation of instability and quotes locals calling Trump “out of his mind.”
Elisabeth Bumiller, “Bleak Times in Copenhagen: Danes Feel Betrayed and Bewildered by Trump“, New York Times, January 18, 2026.
Deeply reported human impact story from Copenhagen capturing Danish sentiment toward Trump’s Greenland campaign. Features Danish soldier Henrik Bager, whose comrades died in Afghanistan, describing Trump’s rhetoric as “a punch to the gut.” Includes Trump’s admission that he wants Greenland because “that’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success” and “Borgen” creator Adam Price’s assessment that the storyline would be rejected as “too crazy” for television.
Haha! "Nyah nyah, my tariff is bigger than your tariff!"
Just be thankful they haven't decided to call in our national debt - yet!