Usha Vance Had A Surprisingly Anti-MAGA Item In The Background Of A New Video
On Sunday, the Second Lady posted a video to her Instagram account announcing an upcoming trip to Kalaallit Nunnaat, Greenland, to attend a dog sled race.
Vance's announcement was about as bland as the background of her video, which consisted of a blank green wall and a mantle topped with a black vase. The scene is so boring, in fact, that one's eye is drawn to a book conspicuously placed on a shelf in the top left corner of the frame.
Surprisingly the book isn't her husband Vice President JD Vance's 2020 bestseller, 'Hillbilly Ellergy,' but a book by another vice president: Al Gore's 'Earth in the Balance.'
The Democrat published the book in 1992 to serve as an early warning about the 'grave danger' presented by climate change. In the foreword of a 2006 reissue of the book, Gore wrote that, 'Global warming is real, it is getting worse rapidly, it is mainly caused by human beings,' the Daily Beast pointed out.
Considering that President Donald Trump has been actively gaslighting Americans into believing that global warming is just a hoax, and that Lee Zeldin, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced earlier this month that he plans to drive 'a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion' by rolling back landmark environmental regulations, it's safe to say that Gore's book would be perceived by the right as pretty anti-MAGA.
The bewildering placement of the book in Vance's video, however, could be indicative of something other than SLOTUS just being clueless.
The video's context indicates that Vance has been, at least for now, tasked with the role of convincing Greenland that imperialism isn't all that bad. Greenland has made it abundantly clear they do not want to become part of the United States, despite Trump's insistence that he'd like to annex the autonomous territory and claim it for the U.S. 'one way or the other.' The book's placement could be a signal to the Nordic region that Vance, at the very least, cares a smidge about global warming, which is already having a profound impact on Greenland.
Vance's softening of her arrival in Greenland also makes sense being that her visit to the Nordic island will follow national security adviser Mike Waltz and U.S. energy secretary Chris Wright's visit to Greenland earlier in the week, according to The New York Times.
Greenland's prime minister, Mute B. Egede, called the visits by the Trump administration's senior officials this week, 'highly aggressive.'
Egede was especially annoyed with Waltz's visit, remarking to a Greenlandic newspaper, which was translated by the Times:
'What is the national security adviser doing in Greenland? The only purpose is to demonstrate power over us.'
Egede added, 'His mere presence in Greenland will no doubt fuel American belief in Trump's mission — and the pressure will increase.'
Trump Admin Tries To Woo Greenland With Visit From Second Lady Usha Vance
Greenland Prime Minister Slams U.S. Officials' Upcoming Visit Amid Trump Annexation Talk
All 5 Greenland Political Parties Reject Trump's Annexation Dream
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It contains factories for some of the biggest US-based apparel makers, including Nike (NKE) and Lululemon (LULU). Vietnam became a destination for companies looking to diversify manufacturing as US-China tensions escalated over the past decade. Vietnam's trade surplus with the US ballooned to over $123 billion last year. This year's US trade deficit with Vietnam stood over $50 billion through just April as companies raced to move more operations out of China. President Trump followed up his previous announcement of a trade deal with Vietnam with some additional details on social media. "It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam," Trump posted on Truth Social. Trump wrote that the two sides agreed to a 20% tariff rate on all goods sent from Vietnam to the US and a 40% tariff rate on transshipment — essentially, when goods from China or other countries are routed through Vietnam. Tariffs on goods from the country were previously set to return to 46% on July 9. Vietnam also lowered tariffs on US goods to zero, Trump said, and is lowering trade barriers. The president suggested US automakers could introduce more SUVs to the Southeast Asian country. "In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade," Trump wrote. "In other words, they will 'OPEN THEIR MARKET TO THE UNITED STATES,' meaning that, we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff." The US and Vietnam are said to be very close to a establishing a trade framework that will see goods given a scaled range of tariffs depending on the percentage of foreign content, according to people familiar with the talks. Reuters reports: Read more here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
