THE AMERICAN POSEIDON ADVENTURE

When I first read this, I thought it was a comedy skit spoofing Donald Trump’s long-standing obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize. But no, it is real. Written by the President of the United States. It reads like a note from a first grader to a classmate who wouldn’t share a Mounds bar.

Text message from President Trump to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, January 18, 4:15 p.m.:

“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT.”

Let’s parse this message.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to individuals who have demonstrably, actually advanced peace. The decision is made independently by a committee appointed by the Norwegian Parliament, not by Norway’s prime minister, and certainly not by personal demand.

Trump’s claim rests on having “stopped 8 wars PLUS.” Just saying it’s so doesn’t count! Let’s examine those eight:

1. Israel–Hamas (Gaza war): A ceasefire halted some large-scale combat, but the war continues. Governance, security, and humanitarian conditions remain unresolved.
2. Israel–Iran (12-day conflict): A brief flare-up paused after U.S. involvement. Experts describe this as a temporary de-escalation, not a concluded war.
3. India–Pakistan (Kashmir border clashes): A short bout of violence ended in a ceasefire, but India disputes any decisive U.S. role.
4. Armenia–Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh): Preliminary agreements were reached, but no comprehensive or ratified peace settlement exists.
5. Rwanda–Democratic Republic of Congo: A peace agreement was signed with U.S. observation, yet violence continues, including active rebel groups such as M23.
6. Cambodia–Thailand border conflict: A brief pause occurred, but it was neither a new war nor a durable peace agreement, and tensions later resurfaced.
7. Egypt–Ethiopia (Nile dispute): This is a diplomatic dispute over a dam, not a war, and involved no active large-scale combat.
8. Serbia–Kosovo tensions: No new war occurred; NATO peacekeepers remain because tensions persist.

Even if one generously credits the Gaza ceasefire, it has not “ended” the war. Of the remaining seven, several were not wars at all, and where violence did occur, it largely continues. In cases like India–Pakistan, Trump’s influence is widely questioned.

Trump then declares peace is no longer his overriding concern. Is this someone who should have gotten a ‘peace prize’? That he will now act based on what is “good and proper for the United States of America.”

But isn’t peace ‘good and proper’ for America?

Is it “good and proper” to violate longstanding commitments to Denmark, a NATO ally whose soldiers fought and died alongside Americans?
Is it “good and proper” to threaten the seizure of territory from an ally?
Is it “good and proper” to abandon decades of treaty obligations and undermine NATO, the most successful defensive alliance in modern history?
Is it “good and proper” to destroy U.S. credibility when other, lawful, cooperative means exist to address security concerns?

For America, retreating from allies and commitments is not “good and proper.” What Trump means by those words is something else entirely. For him, “good and proper” is whatever serves his immediate interests, money, power, prestige, or ego. Often it is a shiny object waved in one direction, so the public doesn’t look in another.

We are living inside one of those distractions right now.

The ICE operation in Minnesota has been conducted using aggressive, confrontational and ‘good and proper’ tactics straight from Trump’s playbook, resulting in the death of a young mother, Renee Good, shot by a federal agent. Many law-enforcement professionals have said the use of force was excessive. Yet before the facts were gathered or a credible investigation completed, Trump and his administration declared the killing justified, granted the shooter immunity, and then smeared the victim, outrageously labeling her a terrorist.

This is the same playbook Trump used after January 6th. The truth of that day was lived and testified to by Republicans and Democrats alike. But intimidation, threats, and political coercion rewrote reality. Violent offenders who beat police officers, injured many, and caused deaths were later pardoned, not based on evidence or justice, but the Trump ‘good and proper’ rewrite.

Trump wants what he calls “good and proper.”
But increasingly, America and peace are the casualties.

RESIST!!! & EDUCATE!!!