When Thomas Paine wrote the first pamphlet of The Crisis in December 1776, less than six months after the Declaration of Independence, this is what he said:
“These are the times that try men’s souls . . . He that stands by (their country) now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
All around us we see that violence is a key tool for Trump - in the United States and with the world. In the last week, in Davos Trump used threats and insults to upend world order in Davos and domestically to violently assault the people of the city of Minneapolis. Fear, intimidation and coercion are Trump’s only means to the ends he seeks. He uses these tools based solely on what he decides. No constitution, no Congressional legislation, no due process or rule of law, no treaty, no norm of international law, no recognition of sovereignty of the world’s countries, no willingness to find a cooperative methodology for resolving disputes, no concern for fairness, no respect for another’s land, resources or the rights of people anywhere ever stand in his way.
The United States Abroad
Prime Minister Mark Carney in his address in Davos on January 20 said that “that the US-led global system of governance is enduring “a rupture,” defined by great power competition and a “fading” rules-based order.” “Call it what it is: a system of intensifying great power rivalry where the most powerful pursue their interests using economic integration as coercion,” Carney said. There was a “rupture” in the old system, and a new one must arise. “Middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” he added. Carney did not address the question of countries between middle powers and the dominant large powers, but the implication was clear - no country should rely on the American version of the international order. Behind this speech seemed to be a view that there is and should be no longer any trust in the leadership of the United States.
With this address and the reaction of Europe countries to the imperialistic demands on Greenland and the insulting and lying remarks by Trump on the allies’ role in Afghanistan, America’s global role is even more unwelcome. For many, there may be no going back while Trump is in power, and there will be open and continuing concern that Trump’s approach will be carried forward by other American leaders in the future.
Greenland now is a genuine trial of strength - a bras de fer - for the Europeans. Trump’s aim for Greenland is to expand America’s footprint and gain all the advantages that will entail, especially the resources and the expanded territorial influence. He is obsessed with having a bigger America. The rhetoric on security is a distraction. Arctic security has been a NATO issue for years, and NATO is a perfect forum for solving the issue. Trump ignores the idea.
Many Europeans consider the Trump position to be more than a rupture of world order - it is a direct demand to seize European territory and make it part of the United States. Many Europeans see raw imperialism. They know Trump’s throwback to the 19th century when concern for human welfare mattered far less that land, resoures and economic wealth.
The Europeans still are faced with the challenge of keeping Washington on the team for Ukraine. Trump, however, has a dilemma he himself created. For him to give up on Ukraine would be a surrender. So he pressures Zelenskyy to make the concessions Russia wants. Zelenskyy, who has shown 10 times the courage of Trump, keeps demanding a sure and durable American security guarantee. If it’s really solid, Trump is more likely to remain, and he will avoid the surrender as long as he keeps his commitment.
In another gambit, Trump has moved on to the the “Board of Peace.” At first, he pretended this concept was to address the still on-going Gaza War, but his unveiling in Davos made no mention of Gaza or the proposed American solution. He is creating instead a shadow UN system that he will personally lead as “permanent chairman.” While there are 22 or so countries who are now members, most are not democracies. No major European country has joined his latest venture. This is another performative gesture - so far “all hat and no cattle” as our friends in Texas would say.
The United States at Home
Violence abroad is matched by violence at home. Trump has made his immigration campaign a new battleground against the American people. ICE already has martyred two American citizens who posed no threat, yet are labeled terrorists by Kristi Noem. Renee Nicole Good was a mother of three. Alex Pretti was an intensive care nurse in a VA hospital. Both were killed in highly questionable circumstances, possibly murdered, by ICE agents in Minneapolis. Good was shot at point blank range driving away from the scene of a confrontation. Pretti was shot on the ground in the back after his pistol was taken away. Photos also are readily available of ICE agents firing pepper spray directly into the faces of helpless victims on the ground. We have no idea who these ICE people are, but we witness their brutality every day. Video evidence also contradicts the ICE assertions against Good and Pretti. Kristi Noem, secretary of DHS, refuses to allow Minnesota authorities to investigate the killings. Trump’s denial of a fair process to determine accountability is a source of growing public resistance to ICE actions.
A new Politico poll underscores the negative reaction of Americans to this conduct. Nearly half of all Americans — 49 percent — say Trump’s mass deportation campaign is too aggressive, including 1 in 5 voters who backed the president in 2024. In a sign of growing discomfort among the president’s base, more than 1 in 3 Trump voters say that while they support the goals of his mass deportation campaign, they disapprove of the way he is implementing it. He is losing members of his MAGA crowd, and increasing the opposition ranks. The U.S. government is possibly heading for a partial government shutdown as Senate Democrats vow to oppose a funding package that includes appropriations for the DHS. “A growing number of Republicans” also want a more thorough investigation of ICE tactics in Minnesota, according to AP as reported by Apple News.
Tomorrow
Thomas Paine’s December 1776 pamphlet came as concerns deepened about the American cause. As of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, every colonial supporter was a traitor under British law. In July and August 1776. Britain landed in America the largest expeditionary force it had ever assembled. Washington’s army failed completely to stop the British onslaught. The American rebels lost Long Island, then Manhattan, Harlem, the Bronx, White Plains, Ft. Washington and were forced into New Jersey. Washington retreated across the state, and in late November he crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. The American cause was on the verge of collapse. The British commanders thought the Revolution was all but finished, and would receive the death blow in 1777.
Except that did not happen. Washington in a daring move crossed the Delaware to capture Trenton on December 26, 1776 and then was victorious at Princeton on January 3, 1777. These two victories restored American morale and demonstrated that the Americans could defeat British and Hessian regulars. The Revolution turned around because the Americans refused to allow it.
For anyone needing encouragement to stop Trump, Paine’s call for resistance and hope is just as apt today as it was in 1776. Trump is overplaying his hand. His support abroad and at home is weakening as his arrogance grows. Ordinary Americans, like you and I, are not going to let a demagogue destroy our democracy. We are on the way back - recall it took Washington 4 years and nearly 10 months from Trenton and Princeton to collapse British will at Yorktown. That determination and conviction is appearing once more. That’s how our democracy was won, and that’s how we will win again.