The Blowback has Begun

Norwegian Fuel Company Cuts U.S. Supply, Sweden Orders German Missiles, Americans Protest Vance’s Vacation

I warned the CEOs of American defense manufacturers yesterday that they should start considering their retirement plans. Even I didn’t expect things to unravel this quickly for the clueless Trump administration. They have no idea what they’ve walked into.

The world has watched as Trump and Vance twist reality—framing the victim as the aggressor and the aggressor as the victim. Photographs of Ukrainians killed in this war are dismissed as mere “tough stuff,” while we’re told that Putin is off-limits because he and Trump supposedly endured the “Russia hoax” together.

Meh.

The MAGA echo chamber, backed by Fox News, keeps pushing the narrative that Zelensky somehow disrespected the United States. But even that flimsy accusation has collapsed under its own weight—because it wasn’t tethered to truth. Normally, MAGA-world is clever in how it constructs its lies, weaving them with just enough fact to make them stick. This time, they didn’t even bother. The result? Their narrative didn’t just fall flat—it backfired spectacularly.

The blowback has been swift and severe.

Just hours ago, Norwegian fuel company Haltbakk Bunkers announced it will no longer supply fuel to U.S. military forces in Norway or American ships docking in Norwegian ports.

express.co.uk

Haltbakk Bunkers, based in Kristiansund, is a key supplier of marine fuel for commercial and military operations. The company provides bunkering services across Norwegian waters, ensuring fuel logistics for civilian fleets, NATO forces, and allied militaries.

The firm’s owner, Gunnar Gran, put it bluntly to the Norwegian maritime news site Kystens Næringsliv: "Not a single litre of fuel" will be delivered. He didn’t stop there, he added: “We are a private limited company and reserve the right to choose our customers.”

Ouch.

In the last week of February, reports surfaced that Sweden was in talks with Germany to acquire the Taurus air-launched cruise missile. Now, it’s official—Sweden will integrate German-made Taurus missiles into its Gripen fighter jets, becoming the fourth country to deploy them after Germany, Spain, and South Korea.

This is a significant development, considering Taurus missile production had been halted after the German government and other potential buyers failed to place new orders. Former Chancellor Olaf Scholz made that decision for reasons only he truly understands. A full-scale war is raging on Europe’s western flank, yet he somehow concluded that halting missile production was a good idea.

And yet, here we are. Just weeks after Germany and Sweden opened discussions, Taurus missile production is back in motion. Halted in November 2024, it took only until February 2025 for Sweden to finalize its decision and place an order—paving the way for production to resume.

What happened between November 2024 and February 2025? Maybe they’re no longer interested in buying American missiles.

After nearly two years of observing how Europe moves, I’ve learned one thing: they are agonizingly slow—slow enough to make your blood curdle. But once they commit, there is no stopping them. I could list a dozen examples from the past two years alone.

The Trump administration continues to underestimate the growing momentum in Europe, where support for Ukraine is unwavering. Europeans don’t see Trump and Vance’s bullying of Zelensky as a one-off incident—they see a pattern. And they are now determined to break it. If Trump and Putin believe Europe will crumble under pressure, they are in for a rude awakening.

Haltbakk Bunkers has already proven that won’t be the case. Germany restarting Taurus missile production is another sign that the status quo is shifting. The Nordic and Baltic nations view Ukraine as an extension of themselves—if Ukraine falls, so does their freedom. That’s why their support is rock-solid, unshakable. No matter what obstacles the U.S. throws their way, they will not back down.

In fact, I’d go as far as saying they might even push Ukraine to go it alone if necessary.

Trump and Vance’s heavy-handed tactics have only intensified Western Europe’s distrust of the so-called “big powers.” They won’t retreat. Instead, they will keep pushing Europe to step up. And Europe will step up—slowly, perhaps, but inevitably. And when they do, they will deliver.