00:00We're going to go back to our top story, and that's, of course, Donald Trump, who's just landed in Zurich and who is now on his way to Davos, Switzerland, to address delegates at the World Economic Forum.
00:11This, of course, as his rhetoric over Greenland continues to intensify, we can now bring in Larry Sabato, founder and director at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
00:21Thank you so much for joining us on the program today.
00:24Donald Trump will be coming face-to-face with a largely, one could argue, hostile crowd at Davos.
00:30Do you think that that very fact will change or soften his rhetoric when it comes to Greenland?
00:36I don't believe it will have any impact at all. In fact, it may intensify it.
00:41Donald Trump does not act rationally in these circumstances, and I think the whole world knows that.
00:47They've had five years of his presidencies to get used to him and his method of operation, which is basically chaos, threats, chaos, retribution, revenge.
00:59Whether it has an impact or not, he will insist upon what he has outlined already, which is somehow taking over Greenland, which isn't going to happen.
01:11He will reach some kind of compromise, probably lifting some or all of the tariffs.
01:18He changes his mind from day to day and hour to hour.
01:22But people looking for immediate relief are not going to get it.
01:25And, of course, even if he gives them some relief, he can take it back the next day.
01:30Larry, you know that over the past year, European leaders have essentially kowtowed to Donald Trump.
01:35That strategy hasn't worked.
01:38But even if they were to stand up to the U.S. president, what would we likely see happen?
01:43Is that the end of the transatlantic relationship as we know it?
01:46Or are we going to see some full-fledged trade war between the two sides?
01:52We're certainly headed for a trade war.
01:54I don't think it makes any sense for the United States either.
01:58That may be the saving grace here.
02:01Perhaps that will deter Trump in the long run or the short run.
02:04But for the time being, I think people have to recognize that groveling before Trump does not work.
02:13He only respects strength.
02:15That doesn't mean he's going to give in, but he only respects strength.
02:19In that sense, he's just like Vladimir Putin.
02:23And that's something European leaders have never understood fully, and they certainly haven't acted on it.
02:29Though I would say the French president has done much better than certain other European leaders, such as the British prime minister.
02:36How does Donald Trump's base view all his arguments for expanding U.S. territory suddenly?
02:43Because not only did he capture Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, he then went on to threaten Cuba.
02:51Once again, he's threatening Canada based on images he's been putting out from his official account.
02:56Greenland.
02:56What does his base have to think about all of this?
02:59Because he promised to be a non-interventionist president.
03:01Yes, he did promise that.
03:05His base, of course, follows him blindly for the most part, but that's only about a third of the American population.
03:12Two-thirds do not follow him blindly and, in fact, are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the performance of his administration.
03:21Inflation has not lessened, and the effects of prices have continued.
03:26They haven't lowered, despite his promise that they would be lowered on the first day of his new administration, and that's the central focus of most Americans.
03:36His base is concerned about inflation, too.
03:39They're concerned about prices, too.
03:41They give him the benefit of the doubt any time they can, but they're also coming to the end of the rope because they're seeing very little coming out of it.
03:50Whether it will have any impact on Trump, again, he's in office for three more years.
03:57You know, if he only had a year to go, I think we'd all find ways to survive, and we'd all find ways to maneuver around Trump.
04:04But he has three more years, and that's a long time in anybody's book.
04:09I want to ask you about another pet project, vanity project of Donald Trump's.
04:15It's appeared out of nowhere, this Gaza Board of Peace, which seems like his version, his alternative to the United Nations,
04:24even though, as we know from history, the United Nations didn't just appear overnight.
04:28We had the League of Nations, and then gradually, over decades, we now have the United Nations today.
04:34As flawed as it is, as ineffective as the United Nations is, it still brings all countries together and has some certain clout.
04:43Donald Trump's Gaza Board of Peace doesn't seem to be coming off the ground very easily.
04:48We just have the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Egypt, and just a handful of countries who are willing to jump on board.
04:57Yes, it's no substitute for the UN.
05:00It's laughable to think that it ever would be.
05:02It's partly about money, as it always is with Donald Trump, a price tag of a billion dollars per country.
05:11And who controls that money, or who will control it?
05:14Donald Trump.
05:16Something we've learned in this term, he tried this in the first term, it didn't work so well.
05:21This term, everything has a cut for Donald Trump and his family.
05:26Everything.
05:26And that is part of the underpinning of this peace board.
05:32Inviting Vladimir Putin tells you all you need to know about what Trump has in mind.
05:37He's going to get as many countries as possible that need Donald Trump for one thing or another
05:43to pay a billion dollars into Donald Trump's slush fund.
05:47And this is going to be no substitute for the United Nations, and it certainly isn't going to provide peace for Gaza either.
05:54Thank you very much.
