Any suggestion there’s a substantive agreement appears to be wrong. As the president has admitted, the details don't exist yet.
After years of assurances that his health care plan was just “two weeks” away, Donald Trump was pressed during a 2024 debate on this elusive blueprint. The Republican famously declared, “
I have concepts of a plan.”.....
And yet, after the president announced that he’d agreed to “
a framework” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the future of Greenland, the Republican faced inevitable questions about the agreement’s contents, and he decided to lean once again on a familiar phrase.
Kernen: “Can you go into what you just talked about with the NATO meeting?â€
Trump: “Well, we have a concept of a deal.â€
— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) 2026-01-21T20:50:23.909Z
“We have a concept of a deal,” Trump told CNBC on Wednesday afternoon.
As the dust settles on the head-spinning developments, here are five key elements to keep in mind:
1.
For now, the details of the deal don’t appear to exist. Shortly after announcing the breakthrough by way of his social media platform, the American president conceded to reporters,
“It’s right now a little bit in progress.” On Thursday morning, during a Fox Business interview, he added,
“It’s really being negotiated now, the details of it.” Any suggestion there’s a meaningful agreement in place appears misguided.
2.
Be prepared for a fresh round of “TACO” mockery. Throughout 2025, the president confronted consistent
“Trump Always Chickens Out” ridicule, mostly driven by his willingness to back off his treats of tariffs in the face of sharp stock market downturns. This week, it happened again. The Republican specifically referenced the stock market three times during his remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, shortly before caving — which left little doubt as to why he was eager to back away from the crisis he created.....
5.
He could still reverse course again. The incumbent American president hasn’t exactly earned a reputation for steadfastness and consistency. There were few similarities between his approach to Greenland on Tuesday and his approach on Wednesday. What will his position be next week or next month? No one knows, and that’s part of the broader problem: Trump is an erratic and easily confused official who tends to be swayed by the last person to have his ear, which necessarily makes it difficult for anyone, including our closest allies, to have confidence about the future.
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