The phrase "less than meets the eye" ought to feature in any attempt to understand #Trump's brain, but I just want to be sure, in light of his letter to the Norwegian PM.

From https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/19/donald-trump-greenland-threats-nobel-prize-snub-letter
> “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,” he said, adding he could now “think about what is good and proper” for the US.

1. You did not stop "8 Wars PLUS". You can't even name the countries, or describe what those wars were about.

(1a. WTF is "PLUS"? Are you acknowledging that you don't even know the actual number?)

2. You are admitting out loud that the only reason you gave a shit about "peace" at all was so you could get a Nobel. And, obviously, the only reason you want a Nobel is for the prestige, the association with people who did something worthwhile (most of them, at least) and who themselves didn't just want to get a medal.

I.E., dickhead, you're admitting that the adulation you crave is _specifically_ of the undeserved variety.

3. You are also admitting that you _weren't_ doing "what is good and proper" for the US while you were lusting after your Nobel. But that is perhaps less of a joke than your promise to start doing any such thing from now on.

4. What do you even want out of the Norwegian PM? Is he just a general enemy now because he's a normal, functioning human?

Donald Trump links Greenland threats to Nobel snub as EU trade war looms

US president tells Norwegian PM he no longer feels obliged to think ‘purely of peace’ as relations with Europe plunge into chaos

The Guardian

@djac

You are thinking of him as a normal human being, he is not, he's a mafia boss.

The letter to the .no PM amounts to:

"Nice country you have there. Too bad if something happened to it. Better think careful about who you give peace prizes. Capisce ?!"

@bsdphk @djac

"Støre said that he had “clearly explained, including to President Trump, what is well known – the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee”."

@jon_bon

Yeah ? But the way a mafioso deals with details like that, is to make it somebody else's urgent problem.

And to a mafioso who think everybody is mafia: Surely the head Norwegian mafioso can and will explain their misunderstanding to that committee, once he realizes that otherwise the Big Mafioso gets very disappointed."

It's really that simple...

@bsdphk You're right, of course, but I entertain delusions of him being held to the standards of a normal human being (never mind even being held to the standards of an actual leader).
@bsdphk @djac
It's just a shame that he's not PM of Sweden, where he might feasibly have some influence.
@djac Re: #2: The main reason is because Obama got one.

@djac
The letter is an attempt to reach his voters. He hopes they will buy the narrative that the European nations hate Trump and will not recognize Trump's successful peacekeeping efforts out of animosity. In this scenario he is just declaring "No more Mr Nice Guy."

You're right to point out that it exposes the purely transactional nature of his reasoning. But he's either lacking in self awareness or is banking on his voters endorsing that thinking anyway. He has a record

of surrounding himself with abject yes men, so it could well be the former, bizarre though that seems. @djac
@djac was thinking I'd click the link and get 404 ... !