'This should motivate every country to go nuclear': Top venture capitalist warns after Trump's EU tariffs

Indian-American venture capitalist Vinod Khosla on Sunday reacted to US President Donald Trump's decision to impose fresh tariffs on European countries, warning that the move undermines international order and could push nations toward nuclear proliferation.

"Welcome to the world of might is right," he wrote on X after Trump imposed 10% tariffs on European countries, including Denmark. "This should motivate every country to start its own nuclear bomb program because they cannot rely on international rule of law, and AI will make the development easier. How much damage one dumbass can cause! The French nuclear arsenal should be moved to Greenland asap as a favor to the world to activate the MAD defense and deter Trump!"

On Saturday, Trump announced that Washington would impose a 10% tariff on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland starting February 1, 2026, with the rate set to rise to 25% from June 1, 2026.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump explicitly linked the tariffs to his long-standing demand that the US acquire Greenland. "Starting on February 1st, 2026, all of the above-mentioned Countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland), will be charged a 10% Tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America. On June 1st, 2026, the Tariff will be increased to 25%. This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland."

Trump added that Washington had sought to acquire Greenland for more than a century but had been repeatedly rebuffed by Denmark. "The United States has been trying to do this transaction for over 150 years. Many Presidents have tried, and for good reason, but Denmark has always refused."

American political scientist Ian Bremmer warned that Trump’s Greenland push risks damaging core US alliances and runs counter to Washington’s own strategic interests. "President Trump's decision to secure ownership of Greenland would critically undermine the world’s strongest military alliance and is fundamentally contrary to the us national interest."

Bremmer added that domestic opinion in the United States does not back the move. "A solid majority of Americans understand this and oppose the decision accordingly." He said Trump has previously reversed course on controversial decisions and expressed hope that he would do so again. "President Trump has shown he’s capable of forgetting about particularly bad decisions. Hopefully, he'll show that capability here."

Following Trump's tariff announcement, the European Union paused progress on a transatlantic trade deal with the United States. Siegfried Mureșan, a Member of the European Parliament, said ratification of the agreement would be delayed in light of the new measures.

"We were supposed to ratify very soon in the European Parliament the EU-US trade deal from last July, reducing tariffs for imports from the US into the European Union to 0%. That ratification will have to wait a little longer in this new context," he said.