Trump’s Annoyance in Davos
The threats made by the U.S. president are beginning to meet with a deserved tone of rejection from allies
In case any further proof was needed, Donald Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday clearly showed the increasing dissociation between the U.S. president’s words and reality. The inaccuracies — if not outright lies; the inappropriate expressions; the cocky tone; and the direct threats stopped provoking astonishment and alarm and gave way to irritation, weariness and opposition, as some Western leaders showed in the last few hours inside and outside of the forum.
The chaotic speech to the world business elite drifted between Greenland, the 2020 U.S. election, the missiles seen over Kurdistan, U.S. strategy during World War II, inflation, very expensive Swiss watches, and the supposedly good intentions of Vladmir Putin, whom Trump assured didn’t want to invade Ukraine and is suffering greatly from what is happening.
But it’s dangerous to get caught up in Trump’s strange logic. The crisis with Europe that the U.S. president has insisted on creating with regard to Greenland’s sovereignty is the best example of his cynicism. He only wants, he said in Davos, to acquire a “piece of ice, cold and poorly located” from Denmark, a very beautiful country incapable of defending the territory. So Trump feels obliged to send the Army to protect the people of Greenland. Even Putin produced a more complex rationale for the invasion of Ukraine.
The big obstacle for his plans isn’t so much Denmark, which he ignores, but rather the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, whose members, according to him, treat the U.S. very unfairly, and whom he openly threatened. “You can say yes and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember,” he warned. In response to this repeated thuggish language, voices were raised, including that of French President Emmanuel Macron — mocked by Trump — who yesterday called for a NATO exercise in Greenland to demonstrate European involvement in the defense of the Danish island. This is a commendable escalation in the European response, which until now has been too timid in the face of a character who is arrogant toward those who try to temper him but prudent toward those who speak to him plainly. In parallel with France’s proposal, the European Union is going in the right direction, announcing a “substantive package of investments” for the autonomous territory that reaffirms its place as Europe.
The big revelation in Davos regarding the resistance against the ideological onslaught of Trumpism was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. On Tuesday, in an outstanding speech that was diametrically opposed to that of the U.S president both in substance and form, he pointed out the gap between official statements and reality. He announced his unwavering support for Denmark and warned that avoiding problems in the name of appeasement doesn’t help, especially in a world where the strongest are trying to prevail according to their own moral parameters. Talking straight is a brilliant first step to changing this twisted dynamic.
In case any further proof was needed, Donald Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday clearly showed the increasing dissociation between the U.S. president’s words and reality. The inaccuracies — if not outright lies; the inappropriate expressions; the cocky tone; and the direct threats stopped provoking astonishment and alarm and gave way to irritation, weariness and opposition, as some Western leaders showed in the last few hours inside and outside of the forum.
The chaotic speech to the world business elite drifted between Greenland, the 2020 U.S. election, the missiles seen over Kurdistan, U.S. strategy during World War II, inflation, very expensive Swiss watches, and the supposedly good intentions of Vladmir Putin, whom Trump assured didn’t want to invade Ukraine and is suffering greatly from what is happening.
But it’s dangerous to get caught up in Trump’s strange logic. The crisis with Europe that the U.S. president has insisted on creating with regard to Greenland’s sovereignty is the best example of his cynicism. He only wants, he said in Davos, to acquire a “piece of ice, cold and poorly located” from Denmark, a very beautiful country incapable of defending the territory. So Trump feels obliged to send the Army to protect the people of Greenland. Even Putin produced a more complex rationale for the invasion of Ukraine.
The big obstacle for his plans isn’t so much Denmark, which he ignores, but rather the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, whose members, according to him, treat the U.S. very unfairly, and whom he openly threatened. “You can say yes and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember,” he warned. In response to this repeated thuggish language, voices were raised, including that of French President Emmanuel Macron — mocked by Trump — who yesterday called for a NATO exercise in Greenland to demonstrate European involvement in the defense of the Danish island. This is a commendable escalation in the European response, which until now has been too timid in the face of a character who is arrogant toward those who try to temper him but prudent toward those who speak to him plainly. In parallel with France’s proposal, the European Union is going in the right direction, announcing a “substantive package of investments” for the autonomous territory that reaffirms its place as Europe.
The big revelation in Davos regarding the resistance against the ideological onslaught of Trumpism was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. On Tuesday, in an outstanding speech that was diametrically opposed to that of the U.S president both in substance and form, he pointed out the gap between official statements and reality. He announced his unwavering support for Denmark and warned that avoiding problems in the name of appeasement doesn’t help, especially in a world where the strongest are trying to prevail according to their own moral parameters. Talking straight is a brilliant first step to changing this twisted dynamic.
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