Image: watson/getty/imago
analysis
Mary Trump, the US President’s niece, comments on his letter to the Prime Minister of Norway.
January 20, 2026, 1:21 p.mJan 20, 2026, 1:54 p.m
Mary Trump is not only the president’s niece, she is also one of his harshest critics. And she is a psychologist who has written several books about her uncle. The title of her latest work alone speaks volumes: “America’s Nightmare”. She is also one of the experts who is convinced that Trump is not only a pathological narcissist, but also exhibits features of progressive dementia.
But even for Mary Trump it was the letterwhich her uncle sent to Jonas Gahr Støre, the Prime Minister of Norway, over the weekend, too much. In it the US President writes:
“Considering that your country has decided not to award me the Nobel Prize despite having fought 8 wars PLUS, I no longer feel obliged to think about peace, although that will still be dominant, but I can now concern myself with what is good and right for the United States of America.”
[Sorry für den holprigen Satz, aber so schreibt Trump nun mal.]
Trump then mentioned Denmark’s claim to Greenland and added: “The world is not safe until we have complete control of Greenland. Thank you!”
Mary Trump, niece of the US President.Image: keystone
When the first reports about this letter appeared, the first reaction everywhere, including the Watson editorial team, was: “That can’t be true, it must be a DeepFake.” But it’s not. That’s why all people whose brains are still halfway intact agree with Mary Trump, who made the following post on X: “This is too stupid even for him.”
In fact, it is impossible to find rational reasons for Trump’s obsession with Greenland. When it comes to military security, the US president has all the freedom he wants thanks to a 1951 agreement with the protecting power, Denmark. As far as the economic benefits are concerned, this is questionable. Important raw materials such as rare earths, gold and also oil and gas are believed to be in Greenland, but despite global warming they are still hidden for a long time under a thick layer of ice, which makes mining seem less worthwhile.
Some therefore speculate that in Greenland Trump has found the ultimate distraction from the Epstein files, the release of which the Justice Department is criminally delaying despite a law passed by Congress. The most likely theory, however, is that the cause is Trump’s limitless narcissism.
Limitless Narcissist: Donald Trump.Image: keystone
If he succeeds in annexing Greenland to the USA, he would be guaranteed an entry into the history books. Just as Thomas Jefferson once bought Louisiana from Napoleon and Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska from the Russians, Trump would then have pulled off a spectacular deal. After all, Greenland is more than twice the size of Texas.
Trump is obviously willing to carry out his vanity project against all odds. Although he wants to talk to European heads of state about Greenland at the WEF, he is sticking to his claim to absolute control. Anything other than a complete sale of Greenland to the USA would be “unacceptable,” he continued.
This claim is actually “stupid” in two respects.
To enforce his claim, Trump is once again using the tariff hammer. He wants to impose punitive tariffs on the eight countries that sent soldiers to Greenland. But this time the Europeans are apparently unwilling to be slaughtered. The risk of a trade war spiraling out of control is therefore increasing.
That would also severely damage the American economy, and that in turn would be paradoxical, because despite the president’s erratic tariff policy, the economy has held up well so far. Thanks to the tax gifts in the “big and beautiful bill,” there is even the prospect of a strong upswing, at least in the short term. And that in turn would massively increase the Republicans’ chances of being elected in the coming midterm elections.
Already arrived in Davos: He Lifeng, Chinese Deputy Prime Minister, with Guy Parmelin and Ignazio Cassis. Image: keystone
However, if the trade war escalates, there is a risk of a spiral of impoverishment. The financial markets, already unsettled by Trump’s attacks on the central bank’s independence, could crash. There are already initial signs of this. After the announcement of new tariffs, the dollar and futures fell, the price of gold and the yield on T-bonds rose.
Because the financial markets were closed on Monday for a public holiday, it is difficult to assess the mood. There is also the possibility that investors are betting on TACO-Trump and are therefore hardly impressed by his tariff threats.
However, this does not apply to the political damage that Trump has already caused with his vanity project. In Europe, not only is anger against the US President increasing, but also the realization that the USA can no longer be trusted. This in turn means the end of a rules-based world order that was established under American leadership after the Second World War and which ensured a historically uniquely prosperous and relatively peaceful world for 80 years.
We have become accustomed to this world and take it for granted. This could prove to be a fatal mistake. Historian Robert Kagan warns in “Atlantic”: “The Americans (and we) are entering the most dangerous world since World War II, a world that makes the Cold War look like Sunday school and the post-Cold War era like paradise. The new world will look in many ways like the world before 1945, with several great powers and cancerous conflicts.