On Day One, He Put the World on Notice President Donald Trump declared, “Nothing will stand in our way,” to thunderous applause, as he concluded his inauguration speech last year. The event took place in a cold Washington winter, marking the start of his second term. Amid his remarks, he referenced the 19th Century doctrine of “manifest destiny”—the belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand its territory across the continent, spreading American ideals. At that moment, the Panama Canal was in his sights. “We’re taking it back,” he announced. Now, the same declaration, expressed with absolute resolve, is directed at Greenland. “We have to have it,” has become the new mantra. A Rude Awakening in a Moment of Grave Risk US history is littered with consequential and controversial American invasions, occupations, and covert operations to topple rulers and regimes. Yet, in the past century, no American president has threatened to seize the land of a longtime ally and rule it against their people’s will. No US leader has so brutally broken political norms and jeopardized long-standing alliances that have underpinned the world order since the end of World War Two. There’s little doubt that old rules are being broken, with impunity. Trump’s “Transformative” Shift Trump is now being described as possibly the US’s most “transformative” president—cheered by supporters at home and abroad, while causing alarm in capitals the world over. A watchful silence prevails in Moscow and Beijing. French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stark warning at the Davos Economic Forum: “It’s a shift toward a world without rules, where international law is trampled underfoot, and where the only law which seems to matter is the strongest with imperial ambitions resurfacing.” Concerns Over a Possible Trade War and NATO Risk Mounting concern exists over a possible painful trade war, with some circles even worrying that the 76-year-old NATO military alliance could now be at risk. If the US commander-in-chief attempts to take Greenland by force, the alliance’s stability might be challenged. Trump’s defenders are doubling down on his “America First” agenda, opposing the post-war multilateral order. American Allies Respond to Unpredictability When asked on BBC Newshour whether seizing Greenland would violate the UN charter, Republican congressman Randy Fine said: “I think the United Nations has abjectly failed in being an entity that supports peace in the world and, frankly, whatever they think, probably doing the opposite’s the right thing.” Fine introduced a bill called “Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act” in Congress last week. How do America’s anxious allies respond when it seems nothing will stand in Trump’s way? Many phrases have peppered this past year of diplomatic contortions over how best to deal with the US’s unpredictable president and commander-in-chief. “We need to take him seriously but not literally,” comes from those who insist this can all be sorted out through dialogue. It’s worked, but only to a p