Back in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt delivered one of his most memorable quotes: “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” He adapted the idea from an old African proverb and used it to describe his foreign policy of being diplomatic at first – then using military force if negotiations failed. Today, Donald Trump has revived that foreign policy – with a businessman twist.
Donald Trump – A Stick in Each Hand?
Like Roosevelt, President Trump is all for working out international issues through negotiation. But, also like Roosevelt, he doesn’t hesitate to put the US military to work when he feels diplomacy has failed.
Since returning to the White House in 2025, President Trump has expanded counterterrorism operations in Iraq, Nigeria, and Somalia. He launched a historic bombardment of Iran’s nuclear facilities and responded to Houthi attacks on US service members in Syria with yet more bombings.
On our side of the world, the president has attacked nearly three dozen alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and seized multiple oil tankers coming to or from Venezuela. On January 3, the Trump administration launched a law enforcement and military operation in Caracas, Venezuela, capturing Nicolás Maduro. And if Iran continues killing protesters, the president has promised to step in and help the people.
Clearly, Donald Trump is a president unafraid of military force. But that isn’t the only stick he wields. He’s just as willing to hit other nations in their wallets through tariffs and trade deals.
Economic Warfare
President Trump has set his sights on acquiring Greenland as a US territory. He has offered to buy it, but he has also hinted at a willingness to take it by force. Perhaps as a final attempt at negotiating rather than fighting, the president announced a new set of tariffs on Saturday, January 17. Denmark (the country currently holding Greenland), Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom will all face a 10% increase in tariffs effective February 1 if a deal has not been struck by then for the US to buy Greenland.
Should such a deal continue to elude him by June, Trump intends to increase the additional tariffs to 25%. Will such tariffs go into effect? Well, that likely depends on how the targeted nations and the rest of the UE react. This isn’t the first time the president has threatened or even imposed high tariffs against some foreign country only to reduce or remove them entirely once he achieves the sweet trade deal he had hoped for.
For many of the more tariff-happy presidents throughout America’s history, the international levies were for the sake of “protecting” American wages and the prices of goods and services and, quite often, were intended to be permanent. With Trump, however, it’s a trade tactic. His previous tariffs with the various nations of the world have fallen like acorns from an oak in October. If the EU can convince Denmark and Greenland to make a deal, the tariffs will vanish.
Just a week ago, the president revealed a plan to impose a 25% tax on imports from any country doing business with Iran. How long would such levies last? Presumably, only until the targets decide to drop Iran as a trade partner rather than join the rogue nation in economic strangulation.
For Trump, tariffs are just another big stick he can whip out and whack folks with when they won’t deal his way. And if the US can squeeze a little revenue from the tariffs in the meantime, so much the better.
