The Greenfield Report with Henry R. Greenfield

Episode 7- Trump's Team Leak: A Diplomatic Disaster

• Henry R. Greenfield • Season 1 • Episode 7

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Leaked text messages from Trump's inner circle have detonated a diplomatic bomb in the heart of transatlantic relations. This explosive revelation shows Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other key administration officials openly expressing disdain for European allies regarding military action against Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. The messages reveal a mercenary mindset: why help Europe protect shipping lanes critical to their economy without charging them for American military assistance?

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Greenfield Report with Henry R Greenfield, your gateway to understanding today's geopolitical landscape. With 50 years of experience across 10 countries, henry shares expert insights on world affairs, offering practical solutions and engaging guest perspectives. Dive into the Greenfield Report for lively discussions on the issues that matter.

Speaker 2:

Report for lively discussions on the issues that matter. This is Henry R Greenfield for the Greenfield Report on the fallout from the leaked text between top Trump administration officials regarding the attack planned and then executed on the Houthis. The Iranian proxies menacing the choke point for commerce and ships going north through the Suez Canal and on to Europe. For Europeans and the United Kingdom, which actually participated in the attacks on the Houthis, the leaked text from the core of the senior leadership of the US everyone minus President Trump struck a dagger into the heart of the US relationship with its allies. Let's review for just a moment the Signal group chat consisted of just about everyone in the US leadership team. How about Vice President JD Vance? Or Marco Rubio, secretary of State, or Pete Hegseth, department of Defense, tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence Okay, no smart aleck remarks about that one, please. Or how about Mike Walz, the key national security advisor, or John Ratcliffe, cia director, and, it seems, no group of rogues or malcontents. We will not say incompetence is complete without Stephen Miller, deputy Chief of Staff and Chief instigator on hating just about anyone that doesn't bend the knee to Trump and is ever reaching Fortress America and MAGA. So what did they say? The key culprit seemed to be Vice President Vance, in particular, who not only said he didn't want to do anything that would help Europe, noting the disparity in percentage of commerce 40% for the euros and 3% for the US that passes through the Suez Canal, but he also wanted them to be charged for it to pay for the US bombing of the Houthis. And, of course, pete Hegseth, who chimed in in total agreement but neither noted the fact that the Europeans were not even included in any of the discussions nor, of course, the decision to bomb the Houthis. Let us not forget that these two were lecturing Europe recently, and that would be Vance, who met with the AFD, the pro-Nazi party endorsing them, along with Elon Musk, by the way, before the German elections and you may recall, no, the AFD did not win, but came in a very respectable second.

Speaker 2:

And Hegseth, who is way down on Europe for everything and said no to NATO for Ukraine. But then again, nato is beginning to look like a paper tiger. Sorry, president Trump, everything you seem to touch seems to be falling apart and getting that label that you hate. And of course, ukraine has to give up territories or, as Hegseth put it, recognize the reality that I guess Trump's new ally, russia, should win and Ukraine should I don't know what disappear or at best be a satellite under the control of Russia. Yes, right on the doorstep of Germany and Poland, among many other European countries, to now be menaced by Russia.

Speaker 2:

Well, suffice it to say much needs to be said about the leaked text added on to what we have just mentioned, and how this is yet another blow to what used to be known as the transatlantic partnership and now appears to have little to no partnering, with the exception of the aforementioned United Kingdom. No one really knows exactly how the Euros feel about it, but if the media and talk shows and experts on the continent in several languages, mind you, have anything to say about it, they are completely freaked out. The more measured comments all the way to Australia, by the way, with Prime Minister Albanese weighing in, or Canadian Prime Minister Carney, as this is not good and we need to be more careful, but they were not singled out for criticism by Team Trump, like Europe was. In particular, the United Kingdom remains in a difficult spot. They consistently help with what I will call their legacy Navy, as it cannot stand alone, but it is very helpful in logistics, for instance, to the US Navy in the Gulf as well as around the world. They also have fighters in the sky along the US and, frankly, they speak English and have a culture and tradition which Trump seems to like, in which, other than Spanish being spoken by Rubio, which is pretty useless in the heart of Europe, it doesn't make any of Trump's group a Europhile or sympathetic at all, for that matter, to Europe and its needs or its situation.

Speaker 2:

While it is true the Euros have felt everyone is pitched in, even using their country's air bases for the Americans, europeans, who admit they have been sitting back and only now, with Trump moving on from NATO, have finally realized that we better do something and do it fast. But let's be honest, they were truly stunned by the comments from Vance and Hegseth. Ironically, the comments, by the way, and answers on forums like Quora were 100% negative towards the US and how stupid the US is, which, of course, means they don't get it either, which is why the Greenfield report continues to focus on reality and not on emotional reactions. I do hope the Euros get it. That Trump is but the tip of the iceberg and the rest of what has been under the water in all of the conservative think tanks, ranging from the Heritage Foundation to Project 2025, and now reaching a fever pitch with everyone, including Trump, is Europe has been a freeloader forever and it is over. There is no right or wrong on this. It is about power. It is over. There is no right or wrong on this. It is about power, and who has it right now? Trump and the US and his team, and they do not like Europe. This is no longer one of those. Put money into NATO ideas or proposals and it will go away. Events have and are moving beyond that in what the NATO budget increases still not addressed, by the way, now must be seen as a simple or a simplistic solution compared to the real issues facing Europe.

Speaker 2:

So what are the Euros going to do about it? Cry or yell, or complain or what I don't know? How about build a navy, a European navy, you might ask? In case you haven't noticed it, none of the Europeans outside of the French or the Brits have had much of a navy in over 100 years. The Germans do build a few ships, but nothing on the scale of the Americans. And who else is there? Would you be afraid of the Italian navy, or the Dutch, or anyone else or any of the many Euro countries. In fact, most, including the Central Europeans, like Hungary or Chechnya, don't even have a coast to defend. So why should they build a navy, float them around Lake Balaton in Hungary?

Speaker 2:

Maybe the Norwegians can switch from building cruise liners to warships. It may be possible, and they do have that sovereign fund of 1 trillion euros that they can now invest on defense stocks. But they are a long ways away from building world-class fighting ships. And where would they get all the warheads and equipment, supply chains and logistics? And who would they coordinate? With the americans, the french, the brits? Well, it would have to be some kind of consortium which would take years, decades to put together and would be fought throughout the continent as wasteful as in. Who needs a navy anyways, in an era of advanced drone fighters and cybers and, oh my gosh, way, way, way too complicated and expensive to solve overnight.

Speaker 2:

Yes, the europeans are in shock again, and soon they will no longer be in shock as they will be shocked out. But this one is not easy to fix. Not as easy as, say, putting troops on the ground or building tanks, like the Germans can do with their leopards, or munitions, or even the French first strike capability in nukes or the Brits in their second strike? The question that should be on everyone's mind, besides recognizing the changing world order on everyone's mind. Besides recognizing the changing world order is way deeper than some security troops in Ukraine. For if and when there is a ceasefire is what the heck are the Europeans going to do about the changing situation? Sit there and just cry in their beer or their wine or their whiskey, as the case may be? How about some schnapps boys that will fix them and more movies about the resistance in World War II and how glorious it was?

Speaker 2:

For 80 years, europe has sat back and paid little and did almost no preparation outside of France and a bit of the UK. And now Trump has called them on it and the new generation of conservatives in the United States are going to do exactly as I predicted in previous Greenfield reports. At the minimum, they are going to charge Europe mercenary style for their protection. And, by the way, before you even bring it up, don't even mention Israel, as they have moved on. The Israelis obviously get it. Netanyahu understands, as the so-called settlers were out attacking Arabs on the West Bank last night, and soon Israel will be shipping two million or more people out of Gaza to somewhere, anywhere but in Israel. And you can forget about a two-state solution, not on Israel's territory, which is decidedly expanding in the golden age of Trump, as in how about breaking up Syria into what Israel has now termed the so-called autonomous regions? I can't wait to hear what Israel's solution is for Iran, as if we noted in previous Greenfield reports on nuclear proliferation, if there is ever to be found out to having an operable nuke At a minimum bombing of any facilities. And do you think Israel will stop there? And what about Saudi, the new best friend of Trump? Oh yeah, they are going to get more bases and, who knows, maybe become a substitute as Trump downgrades the giant Ramstein hub in Germany and turns the Saudi desert into an even more important hub for the United States military reaching around the world.

Speaker 2:

They all seem to know how to work with Trump way better than the Euros. They tell Trump he's brilliant and they go and get whatever the hell they want, as he won't mind at all. Gone are the days when Angela Merkel and others would shut Trump out in European meetings and make him sit alone like a schoolboy being cut out of the popular group. Well, the popular group is no longer popular and I am sure JD and all of his yale hillbilly glory and his buddy stephen miller are calculating right now how much is europe going to pay for protection, and trust me, it is not going to be cheap and sadly, the euros have no way out of this. One memo to the european allies you need to wake up, as your ship is sailing and you are not on it. If you don't work collectively to lower the temperature with Trump and his minions, you are going to be cut out of the deal and be subbed out to Saudi.

Speaker 2:

Remember I don't know, has it not occurred to you when are the negotiations for ending a European war being held? You know your existential crisis in Ukraine with Russia. Not in Paris, like the old days when Kissinger would go there to negotiate with North Vietnam to get a ceasefire in that war. Nope, it's in Saudi Arabia at a Ritz-Carlton, no less. Don't ask if it's secure, please don't. I am sure the Chinese are listening in and the Russians, by the way, are at the table, but you Europeans are not. Get the picture. This is Henry R Greenfield signing off for the Greenfield Report.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for joining us on the Greenfield Report with Henry R Greenfield. We hope today's insights into the ever-shifting geopolitical landscape have sparked your curiosity and broadened your perspective. Stay connected with us for more in-depth discussions and expert solutions. Until next time, keep exploring the world beyond the headlines.