[gist]

Have been following Trump since the 1970's. This is a negotiating tactic of his and actually it's a somewhat common negotiating tactic that many people follow when in a negotiation for something they want. Behaviorally anything less than the original demand seems more acceptable. Think of if you were diagnosed with a dreaded disease and then found out you had a lesser disease. The lesser disease by contrast seems less threatening.

I don't know what the angle is (haven't thought that much about it) but there is an angle he is pursuing with this. Trump is a master of FUD and also you can't typically tell what things he says he'll do that he does vs. those that he decides not to pursue further (and tha tis part of the magic of how he gets what he wants the unpredictability).

To answer your question of course it's an over reach happening in plain site but people tend to be numb to it at this point since it doesn't directly impact them day to day.

[microtonal]

I fear that there is no other angle to this. He just wants the 'added land to the US' and 'won a Nobel peace prize'-accolades next to his name as one of the few presidents.

[tveita]

It's going to be difficult to explain to anyone looking back on this time how they managed to keep up the pretense that this was a functional adult with his faculties intact.

Here you are imbuing a "master of FUD" angle to a letter that might as well be written with crayons.

[oenton]

It never ceases to amaze me the lengths some people will go to in order to sane wash the batshit crazy things that the President says and does. And just like all the other rationalizations before this, this one is no different: "negotiating tactic" (aka 4D Chess)

> I don't know what the angle is (haven't thought that much about it)

You don't? It seems pretty clear to me. He states it in the first sentence of his 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..."

That's it. That's the reason. It's not very complicated and it doesn't require any thought. Childish? Sure. Unbecoming of an elected official in any capacity? Absolutely. But this is who he is and this is how he operates. I can't think of any President before Trump that required special whisperers to translate everything he says and tell us what he really means.

[seper8]

Oh yeah it's so common to threaten allied counties to get what you want. What the hell are you even saying. Stop trying to normalize this insanity.