Donald Trump says it’s “absolutely necessary” for our country to have Greenland.

he said The United States should take Unless the “ridiculous” shipping rates are reduced, we will return to the Panama Canal.

he threatened any republican Those who oppose his bill to avert a government shutdown can and should become primaries.

The president-elect is earning a reputation as a disruptor with enough influence over his current party to undermine carefully negotiated compromises between the two parties. Let’s look at each one.

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Trump tried to buy Greenland during his first term controlled by denmark But under local autonomy. Although this triggered a diplomatic crisis with Danish officials, nothing came of it.

Although the United States built the Panama Canal in the early 20th century, it was handed over to Panama under a treaty ratified by the two countries. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said, “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama and will remain so. Our country’s sovereignty and independence are non-negotiable.”

But that didn’t stop Trump from posting an AI image of an American flag flying over a waterway believed to be a canal.

The incoming president has certainly demonstrated an ability to craft primary challenges to those who oppose him. But three dozen conservative Republicans voted against the shutdown bill, including the one that ultimately passed, defeating his demand to lift the debt ceiling while in office. Will he really go up against everyone in the primary?

So the status of Greenland, the Panama Canal, and renegade Republicans will most likely not change in a second term.

The reason Trump does this is that it reinforces his role as a disruptor, someone who challenges the declining Washington establishment, even though the president is, by definition, a new establishment.

President-elect Donald Trump points in the direction during the American Festival on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scutli)

Beyond that, whether or not he makes outrageous demands, Trump shapes and often dominates the news agenda. As the 47th president admitted to me, he sometimes crosses the line because he knows it will cause a backlash from the media. According to Trump, even negative reports is good coverage Because the media operates on his turf.

Sometimes these are simply negotiating positions designed to win concessions, such as threatening 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Keep in mind that most people outside the media-political complex are not paying close attention to these developments. Since the government isn’t actually shut down, they don’t see it as a setback that Trump doesn’t get most of what he wants. They may not remember that he tried to buy Greenland before.

Trump clearly has the power to destroy carefully crafted bipartisan agreements. He did so after Speaker Mike Johnson’s own future was in doubt after he, like Kevin McCarthy before him, failed to get the votes – allowing the bill to grow into a Christmas tree monster.

He did so during the campaign, when the two parties agreed on a strict border enforcement agreement that was later scrapped over Trump’s opposition.

But Trump’s ability to influence events is clearly limited, especially for the country. The fact that three dozen Republicans defied him on fundamental issues like the debt ceiling suggests he can only push his party so far.

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Rep. Nancy Mace, a Trump supporter who voted against it when it last passed, told me during Sunday’s media blitz that it was because she wanted to keep the debt ceiling in place.

But with Republicans currently holding a one-vote lead in the House, the cauldron of campaign rhetoric is facing the cold, hard math of getting No. 218.

Democrats must wonder whether it’s worth negotiating with the other side if they just create a target for Trump’s demolition derby.

This is Elon Musk was the first to tweet The new president was drawn into the fight after posting more than 70 tweets, including some lies, based on Trump’s advice about how bad the original bill was.

BUTLER, PA – OCTOBER 5: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attends the Butler Farm Show on Saturday, October 5, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania Farm Show with former President Donald Trump on the campaign trail. ((Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images))

Over the weekend, Trump denied that he had ceded presidential power to his billionaire friend and half-sarcastically said that Musk could never become president:

“You know why? He wasn’t born in this country. Hahaha.”

One of the media’s favorite games is whether these two strong-willed men will eventually fall out.

For now, though, Trump’s tough talk on Greenland and the Panama Canal suggests he prefers nothing more than to go on the offensive, even if nothing comes of it.

In other news:

— House ethics report says Matt Gaetz “routinely” paid women for sex, including with underage girls, and used illegal drugs.

In 2017, the former attorney general candidate “engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl” and was paid to do so.

Gates “on multiple occasions” used or possessed illegal drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy, and accepted generous gifts such as transportation and accommodation in the Bahamas.

“Many of the women the committee interviewed made it clear that there was a pervasive expectation of sex,” one woman told the committee that Gates paid her more than $5,000 and that it involved sex “99 percent of the time.”

The panel said Gates was “uncooperative” and that he “knowingly and willfully obstructed the committee’s investigation of his conduct.” The Justice Department investigated, but no charges were filed.

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Gates also abused House resources by having his chief of staff “assist a woman he had sex with to obtain a passport, falsely identifying her as a constituent to the State Department…

“There is substantial evidence that Representative Gates violated House rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illegal drug use, accepting impermissible gifts, providing special favors and privileges, and obstructing Congress.”

If Gates were still running for AG, this would completely devastate him.

Gates said: “I was not charged with anything: totally innocent. Not even a campaign finance violation. The people who were investigating me hated me. Then, the “witnesses” the Justice Department deemed uncredible were called by the House Ethics Committee in absentia “There was no opportunity for me or my attorney to face any of the accusers who repeated their claims and I was never prosecuted,” he said. He even sent money To a woman he hasn’t dated.

— A dogged reporter from The Dallas Express has discovered what happened to Texas Rep. Kay Granger, who went “missing” months ago. He found her at a care facility that specializes in treating dementia and other memory problems and got records to confirm. She issued a statement about the health challenge that completely missed the point: How could she not tell her constituents this? Why must she hide it? There will be a great deal of sympathy for her. Instead, the congresswoman kept it all secret.

—Actress Blake Lively is the target of an online smear campaign, as described in text messages and emails that blatantly discuss fabricating stories to damage her reputation while warning, This had to be kept secret because they couldn’t very well admit that they were trying to “bury” her. “You know we can bury anyone.”

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively (David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media, Getty Images/Leah Toby/Getty Images)

Lively obtained the documents through legal action against her co-star and director Justin Baldoni, and they were reviewed by The New York Times. She alleged sexual harassment, saying Baldoni and others often entered her trailer unannounced when she was topless, such as removing makeup or breastfeeding.

Wayfarer Studios said the company and its publicists “took no proactive or retaliatory action” against the actress and accused her of “yet another desperate attempt to ‘repair’ her negative reputation.”

Lively said Baldoni attempted to add unnecessary sex scenes, improvised unnecessary kisses and discussed his sex life, including situations where he may not have sought consent. Another member of the team showed her a video of his wife naked.

Sadly, this happens all the time. We just happen to get the goods this time, with Lively being portrayed as difficult, tone-deaf and a bully.

——The Daily Mail reported that Jeff Bezos will marry his fiancé Lauren Sanchez in a grand wedding costing $600 million in Aspen this weekend.

The founder of Amazon, which owns The Washington Post, says this is nonsense:

“This whole thing is completely false – none of this happened…

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“The old adage ‘Don’t believe everything you read’ is more true today than ever. Now, lies are spread around the world before the truth emerges. So, people need to be careful not to be gullible.”

Good thing Jeff countered with a lame story.