Where to start?
Last week’s spectacle at the World Economic Forum in Davos started with the petulant American president preening, posturing, bullying, insulting and finally, apparently, retreating from his intention of a U.S. takeover of Greenland. Perhaps the Danish and Greenlanders are relieved at the deal Donald Trump struck with other world leaders, but no American should be.
Our nation’s place in the world, as a leader for democracy and peace, a reliable ally with reliable allies, has been utterly disrupted.
Days before the meeting began, Trump threatened 10% tariffs on seven European allies to take effect Feb. 1 and continue until the U.S. gained control of Greenland.
Even before the anniversary of Trump’s second inauguration Tuesday, world leaders expressed their consternation at Trump’s rhetoric, his brutal tariffs, existing and threatened, and shared a clear message that this international relationship is perhaps forever altered.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized Trump’s intentions toward Greenland and use of tariffs against allies, while affirming the importance of the U. S-U. K. relationship.
“Alliances endure because they are built on respect and partnership, not pressure,” he said in London on Monday.
“That is why I say the use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong. … Nor is it helpful to frame efforts to strengthen Greenland’s security as a justification for economic pressure.”
In Davos, French President Emmanuel Macron, who organized the European response, emphasized that Europe would continue to stand up for territorial sovereignty and that countries could respond with their own economic sanctions.
“We do prefer respect to bullies,” Macron said. “And we do prefer rule of law to brutality.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in called the stark change in the international rules-based order a “rupture, not a transition.” He noted that increasingly, countries are seeking more strategic autonomy.
” … More recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, he said. “Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.”
O, Canada.
The charmer-in-chief responded to the overwhelming international reaction to Carney’s barnburner of a speech in the way we have come to expect.
“Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that Mark, before you make your statements.” Trump also rescinded his invitation for Canada to join his “Board of Peace” to promote peacekeeping in Gaza.
In his quest to take over Greenland, Trump is berating the very allies that make exploration and defense of the Arctic region possible. A fleet of thick-hulled icebreakers capable of cutting paths through frozen waters will be necessary — and about 60% of the world’s supply has been built in Finland, Alberto Rizzi, a European Council on Foreign Relations Fellow, told AP.
The president, in his bellicosity, is overlooking the ICE Pact — a trilateral agreement with the Finns, Canada and the U.S. to build 11 long-overdue icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard. Trump just signed it last October. Of Finnish design, the first four will even be built in that country. One need only scan Elliott Bay to see the entirety of America’s meager icebreaker fleet: three vessels in all, including the Polar Star, which turns 50 this year. By contrast, Russia has dozens of such ships, including a nuclear-powered fleet.
Trump can bemoan Danish and NATO rebuffs of his Greenland adventuring. The reality is the president needs those allies. Otherwise, he’d be merely procuring an icy territory without the technology necessary to achieve his aims — while sacrificing the once-stalwart relationships with countries across the world.
By midweek, something changed. Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte worked out a framework of a deal. Trump did not provide details and said more information might be available in two weeks. Rutte told Fox News the two discussed Arctic security and Trump did not broach his Greenland demands.
No doubt the reaction of the financial markets had something to do with Trump’s turnaround. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 870.75 — or 1.7% — and the S&P 500 dipped 2.1%. Both improved in response to the canceled tariff threats.
The battered relationships with U.S. allies will not be so resilient. Less talk of friendship and perhaps much more about transactions.
Regardless, the astonishing spectacle of Davos will smart for a long time.
