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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026

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It's still not clear to me what exactly the US wants to do with Greenland that they cannot already do

It's not 'the US' per se, it's Trump. His worldview seems to be extremely zero-sum. Hence the mercantilism, the grasping at Ukraine's minerals, and the desire to annex Canada and Greenland. Combine that with a feeling that the western hemisphere should be the US' sphere of influence, and the threats/bribes towards Europe make sense.

He has such a strong hold over the Republican party that he's been able to drag them along with his zany schemes, although I'm not sure what Trumpism will look like once Vance takes over. Maybe less chaotic but more driven by whatever is happening on right-wing Twitter.

I'm not sure what Trumpism will look like once Vance takes over.

The odds that Vance gets shoved in a locker the moment Trump exits are quite high.

huh? Trump's current actual (and terrible) foreign policy, not his rhetoric, is the preferred foreign policy of the establishment GOP

it's his own base and supporters who do not like it