Europe Has the Weapons for Trump’s Greenland Tariff War

The Cold War satirical novel The Mouse That Roared imagined a tiny European statelet declaring war on the US in the hopes of being lavished with American aid after its inevitable defeat. It’s a title that came immediately to mind when European nations sent three dozen soldiers to Greenland in response to Donald Trump’s threats to wrest the island from Danish control. The idea seems to have been: Support Denmark, yes, but don’t antagonize the White House when Ukrainian security is also on the line.

Whatever the intent, it hasn’t worked. Trump’s contemptuous delight in beating up US allies was given free rein over the weekend as he raised the ante over the Arctic territory. It’s time for Europe to fight tariff fire with fire.