Latest news with #Danish-ruled
RNZ News
21-04-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
JD Vance: Donald Trump's global 'bad cop'
By Danny Kemp , AFP JD Vance exploded onto the world's television screens in February when he triggered a row with Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images via CNN Newsource Analysis - JD Vance has taken the historically thankless job of US vice president by the scruff of the neck, carving out a role as the Trump administration's global attack dog in its first 100 days. Whereas some of his predecessors have waited out their time a heartbeat away from the presidency, the ambitious 40-year-old has not been afraid to insert himself into world events. Vance exploded onto the world's television screens in February when he triggered a blazing row with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, before President Donald Trump jumped in to berate the Ukrainian president too . Read more: Why JD Vance took the lead in attacking Zelensky And it was the former Ohio senator that Trump dispatched to Greenland to back up his extraordinary territorial claims over the Danish-ruled island . Beijing also lashed out at him for saying Washington borrowed money from Chinese "peasants." "In some ways, Vance is in the mould of other vice presidents. He's unfailingly loyal to the president, knows not to overshadow the boss, and acts as an attack dog," Matt Dallek, a professor of political management at George Washington University, said. But Vance has also made "in-your-face comments that represent something of a departure from his predecessors". Read more : How far could JD Vance go? Nobody quite knew which version of Vance to expect when he started the job. Photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski Was he the Vance from his bestselling 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy , widely viewed as an explainer for the right-wing Rust Belt politics that helped drive Trump's first election win? Was he the US Marine veteran, the Yale-trained lawyer, the devout Catholic convert, or the tech investor who came later? Or was he indeed the Trump critic who once compared the Republican to Adolf Hitler? But within weeks of taking office it was clear Vance had reinvented himself again - as the ultimate 'Make America Great Again' enforcer on the world stage. US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, right, and Vice President JD Vance applaud as US President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025. Photo: WIN MCNAMEE / AFP During his first big foreign trip he launched a withering attack against Europe on culture war issues at the Munich Security Conference, warning there was a "new sheriff in town". Then in February he proved his fealty to Trump with the Zelensky clash. "Have you said 'thank you' once, this entire meeting?" Vance said to Zelensky, calling the Ukrainian leader "disrespectful" before Trump took over. Vance later insisted he had not been the "bad cop" in a premeditated row. But the Zelensky clash reflected Vance's growing ideological clout in the Trump administration. He has long been hawkishly sceptical on US aid for Ukraine while pushing for Europe to do more for its own defence. Commentators have described him as the most influential vice president since Dick Cheney, who under George W Bush championed the war in Iraq, where Vance was once deployed. Vance's key role in the administration burst into the open with the Signalgate scandal, when a journalist was mistakenly looped into a group chat about US airstrikes on Yemen's Huthi rebels. "I just hate bailing out Europe again," Vance lamented, saying that it was the EU that would benefit most from US military action to stop Huthi attacks on shipping in the Middle East. Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance tour the US military's Pituffik Space Base on March 28, in Pituffik, Greenland. Photo:via CNN Newsource Then Vance became the frontman for Trump's claims over Greenland, making a visit that NATO ally Denmark condemned as provocative . "We can't just ignore the president's desires," Vance said during his trip. The world got a rare glimpse during the visit of Usha Vance, his wife and mother of their three children, whom he has credited as steadying influence. Usha Vance admitted in a recent interview that it could be a "very lonely, lonely world" for her husband in his new role. That role is also seen as a natural stepping stone for the highest US office. Vance himself has admitted that he could run for president in the 2028 election, but only after consulting with Trump. Trump however has declined to endorse him just yet - amid speculation that the incumbent could himself somehow defy the US Constitution and run for a third term. "No," Trump told Fox News's Bret Baier in February when asked if he viewed Vance as his successor. "But he's very capable." -AFP
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
JD Vance: Trump's global 'bad cop'
JD Vance has taken the historically thankless job of US vice president by the scruff of the neck, carving out a role as the Trump administration's global attack dog in its first 100 days. Whereas some of his predecessors have waited out their time a heartbeat away from the presidency, the ambitious 40-year-old has not been afraid to insert himself into world events. Vance exploded onto the world's television screens in February when he triggered a blazing row with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, before President Donald Trump jumped in to berate the Ukrainian president too. And it was the former Ohio senator that Trump dispatched to Greenland to back up his extraordinary territorial claims over the Danish-ruled island. Beijing also lashed out at him for saying Washington borrowed money from Chinese "peasants." "In some ways, Vance is in the mold of other vice presidents. He's unfailingly loyal to the president, knows not to overshadow the boss, and acts as an attack dog," said Matt Dallek, a professor of political management at George Washington University. But Vance has also made "in-your-face comments that represent something of a departure from his predecessors." - 'Disrespectful' - Nobody quite knew which version of Vance to expect when he started the job. Was he the Vance from his bestselling 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," widely viewed as an explainer for the right-wing Rust Belt politics that helped drive Trump's first election win? Was he the US Marine veteran, the Yale-trained lawyer, the devout Catholic convert, or the tech investor who came later? Or was he indeed the Trump critic who once compared the Republican to Adolf Hitler? But within weeks of taking office it was clear Vance had reinvented himself again -- as the ultimate "Make America Great Again" enforcer on the world stage. During his first big foreign trip he launched a withering attack against Europe on culture war issues at the Munich Security Conference, warning there was a "new sheriff in town." Then in February he proved his fealty to Trump with the Zelensky clash. "Have you said 'thank you' once, this entire meeting?" Vance said to Zelensky, calling the Ukrainian leader "disrespectful" before Trump took over. Vance later insisted he had not been the "bad cop" in a premeditated row. - 'Very lonely' - But the Zelensky clash reflected Vance's growing ideological clout in the Trump administration. He has long been hawkishly skeptical on US aid for Ukraine while pushing for Europe to do more for its own defense. Commentators have described him as the most influential vice president since Dick Cheney, who under George W. Bush championed the war in Iraq, where Vance was once deployed. Vance's key role in the administration burst into the open with the "Signalgate" scandal, when a journalist was mistakenly looped into a group chat about US airstrikes on Yemen's Huthi rebels. "I just hate bailing out Europe again," Vance lamented, saying that it was the EU that would benefit most from US military action to stop Huthi attacks on shipping in the Middle East. Then Vance became the frontman for Trump's claims over Greenland, making a visit that NATO ally Denmark condemned as provocative. "We can't just ignore the president's desires," Vance said during his trip. The world got a rare glimpse during the visit of Usha Vance, his wife and mother of their three children, whom he has credited as steadying influence. Usha Vance admitted in a recent interview that it could be a "very lonely, lonely world" for her husband in his new role. That role is also seen as a natural stepping stone for the highest US office. Vance himself has admitted that he could run for president in the 2028 election, but only after consulting with Trump. Trump however has declined to endorse him just yet -- amid speculation that the incumbent could himself somehow defy the US Constitution and run for a third term. "No," Trump told Fox News's Bret Baier in February when asked if he viewed Vance as his successor. "But he's very capable." dk/sla/acb
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Greenland braces for JD Vance's visit
US Vice President JD Vance leaves today for Greenland on a trip ostensibly focused on visiting American forces, but which has sparked huge controversy after White House threats to annex the Danish-ruled territory. The trip comes amid growing competition over access to, and control of, the Arctic. Surveys suggest the region holds much of the world's remaining undiscovered oil and mineral reserves: Arctic-facing nations, including Russia, Canada, and the US — along with ones further afield like China — are keen to control them. Russian President Vladimir Putin complained yesterday of NATO countries using 'the far north as a springboard for potential conflicts,' while Canada will spend $73 billion over 20 years to boost its Arctic forces.
South China Morning Post
05-03-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
US will get Greenland ‘one way or the other', Trump says
President Donald Trump urged Greenland to choose to join the United States but vowed to take the Danish-ruled island 'one way or the other' – a bid Denmark swiftly rejected on Wednesday. Advertisement 'That won't happen,' Danish Defence Minister Trouls Lund Poulsen told public broadcaster DR. 'The direction that Greenland wants to take will be decided by Greenlanders,' Lund Poulsen said. In a partisan speech to Congress on Tuesday, Trump offered only passing lines on world affairs, focusing on his domestic goals like rounding up undocumented immigrants and slashing government spending. But he underlined his expansionist vision of the United States , as he repeated his aspirations to take Greenland and claimed an initial victory on retaking control of the Panama Canal. One week before general elections in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark with an independence movement, Trump said he had a message for the 'incredible people' of the sparsely populated but mineral-rich and strategically-placed island.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump tells Greenland US will get it 'one way or the other'
President Donald Trump urged Greenland on Tuesday to choose to join the United States but vowed to take the Danish-ruled island "one way or the other" -- whatever the locals decide. In a partisan speech to Congress, Trump offered only passing lines on world affairs, focusing on his domestic goals like rounding up undocumented immigrants and slashing government spending. But he underlined his expansionist vision of the United States, as he repeated his aspirations to take Greenland and claimed an initial victory on retaking control of the Panama Canal. One week before general elections in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark with an independence movement, Trump said he had a message for the "incredible people" of the sparsely populated but mineral-rich and strategically-placed island. "We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said. But he made clear he would not give up if persuasion fails, saying: "One way or the other we're going to get it." "We will keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before." China and Russia have been stepping up activity in the Arctic as climate change opens further sea routes. - 'Taking it back' - US threats to take Greenland would once have been thinkable, with Denmark a treaty ally of the United States under NATO. But Trump has made clear he has little patience for European allies, which he again denounced for not spending more on their militaries, with Trump instead seeing a return to an era of big powers taking what they want. He has similarly vowed to take back the Panama Canal, the crucial link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that the United States handed to Panama at the end of 1999. Trump declared triumph after Hong Kong firm CK Hutchison decided to sell its Panama ports to a US-led consortium. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had complained that rival China had gained too much influence over the canal and could shut it down in a conflict with the United States. "To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it," he said, as he mentioned the port deal. "We didn't give it to China. Gave it to Panama -- and we're taking it back," he said. Trump had earlier not ruled out military force to seize either the Panama Canal or Greenland. Trump has paradoxically sought to cast himself as a peacemaker. He has vowed to end the war in Ukraine and has rattled allies by suspending aid to the country, which Russia invaded three years ago. Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he visited the White House on Friday, calling him ungrateful. Addressing Congress, Trump read a message from Zelensky in which the Ukrainian leader sought to repair the damage and voiced a willingness to a sign a deal in which the United States would take much of Ukraine's mineral wealth. "It's time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides," Trump said. The Trump administration at the same time has canceled more than 90 percent of US development assistance, traditionally a key source of US non-military influence. Trump has described aid as not in the US interest, with his advisor Elon Musk, the world's richest person, pushing massive cuts to make way for tax cuts. Trump rattled off a list of previous aid grants and reserved mockery for a project in the landlocked African country of Lesotho, which has one of the world's highest rates of HIV/AIDS. "Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho," Trump said, struggling with the pronunciation. "Which nobody has ever heard of," Trump added to laughter from Republican lawmakers. sct/dc/
