Trump, Chess, Checkers, or Schoolyard Bully Chaos?
For years, Trump supporters have insisted that Donald Trump is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. The phrase is used whenever his actions appear reckless, contradictory, or destabilising. The implication is simple: what looks like chaos is actually genius, and what looks like failure is merely a move several steps ahead.
But when you strip away the slogan and examine outcomes, incentives, and consequences, the chess metaphor collapses. What remains looks far less like grand strategy and far more like leverage-driven bullying with little regard for long-term cost.
The Chess Myth and Why It Persists
The chess narrative is powerful because it works backwards. Any outcome, good or bad, can be reframed as intentional. Allies unsettled? That was the plan. Institutions undermined? Clearing the board. Opponents angry? Psychological warfare.
Real chess players reduce uncertainty. They protect their king. They trade pieces only when the position improves. Trump’s approach does the opposite. It increases uncertainty, weakens alliances, and forces partners into defensive reactions.
That is not chess. That is disruption without structure.
There is also a simpler point. There is no evidence that Trump has ever played chess, publicly or privately. Chess requires patience, sustained concentration, and respect for constraints. None of those traits feature prominently in Trump’s documented behaviour. The metaphor survives because it flatters supporters, not because it fits reality.
Greenland: Security Theatre or Resource Play?
Greenland has been presented by Trump as a security issue, with claims of Russian and Chinese naval presence used to justify increased US control. Danish, Greenlandic, and NATO-linked sources have repeatedly stated that such claims do not match tracking data or intelligence reporting. There are no Russian or Chinese warships swarming Greenland.
What Greenland does have is oil, gas, and rare earth minerals, all of which matter enormously in future energy and technology supply chains.
Crucially, Denmark has already stated that the US can expand its military presence in Greenland without any change in sovereignty. If security were the genuine concern, the issue would already be resolved.
That leaves resources. And leverage.
When security arguments are made where the threat is unverified and the assets are very real, scepticism is not only justified, it is necessary.
Venezuela: Drugs, Democracy, or Oil?
Venezuela has been framed as a drugs and democracy problem. Yet most narcotics entering the US flow through Mexico, not Venezuela. What Venezuela does have is the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
The language of enforcement masks the economic reality. Control of energy assets is power. The question is not whether intervention can be dressed up as law enforcement, but who benefits once the oil flows.
History suggests it will not be ordinary Venezuelans.
Russia, China, and Who Really Benefits
There is no proven evidence that Trump is a Russian asset. That claim requires a level of control and direction that has not been demonstrated.
But a more uncomfortable truth remains. Trump’s actions repeatedly benefit Russia without requiring coordination.
NATO cohesion weakens. The EU fractures. Alliances are strained. Democratic institutions are questioned. These outcomes align neatly with Russian strategic objectives, regardless of intent.
If someone behaves exactly as a hostile power would hope, intent becomes almost irrelevant. Outcomes matter.
Putin does not need to control Trump. He merely needs to watch him work.
Brexit and the UK’s Shrinking Leverage
Brexit removed the UK as a bridge between the US and the EU. That role mattered. It gave Britain influence and gave Washington insight and access.
Post-Brexit, the UK is less useful as an intermediary and more exposed as a strategic outpost. American airbases remain, but political leverage has diminished. If the US pursues aggressive unilateral moves, such as coercion over Greenland, the UK faces an uncomfortable choice.
Europe or unquestioning alignment.
Legally, the UK can restrict US operations launched from its bases. Politically, doing so would test the relationship like never before. That is not strength. It is vulnerability.
Deutsche Bank, Debt, and the Business Genius Illusion
Trump’s reputation as a business mastermind does not survive scrutiny.
He inherited enormous wealth, yet repeatedly ran major ventures into bankruptcy. Casinos, one of the most forgiving businesses imaginable, failed under his control.
When US banks lost patience, Deutsche Bank stepped in. This does not prove foreign influence, but it does show that Trump survived not through exceptional performance, but through continued access to credit when others would have been cut off.
Trump’s wealth model is not value creation. It is leverage, refinancing, branding, and survival. That is legal. It is not genius.
America’s Debt and the Temptation of Asset Thinking
The US faces rising interest costs on its national debt. There is no easy fix. Cutting spending is politically painful. Raising taxes is unpopular.
In that context, the temptation to think in terms of acquiring external assets is obvious. Oil fields. Minerals. Strategic territory.
But nations are not corporations. You cannot solve sovereign debt by grabbing resources. Those assets require stability, investment, and cooperation. Coercion raises costs, not value.
So What Is Trump Actually Doing?
Trump is not playing chess.
He is not playing checkers either.
He is playing schoolyard dominance politics on a global scale.
Push hard.
Create fear.
Force submission.
Declare victory.
Move on.
That approach can work briefly. It does not build systems. It does not create durable power. It leaves behind resentment, resistance, and strategic holes others are eager to fill.
Conclusion
Trump’s greatest skill is not strategy. It is narrative control.
He survives by reframing chaos as brilliance and leverage as strength. But when measured by outcomes rather than slogans, his actions weaken alliances, empower adversaries, and trade long-term stability for short-term dominance.
That is not chess.
It is noise, pressure, and spectacle.
And history is rarely kind to leaders who mistake those things for strategy.
Gary’s Soapbox Comment
Real strategy reduces risk and builds resilience. Bullying creates fear but leaves nothing solid behind. When power is mistaken for genius, the bill always arrives later.
