Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump descended on Davos on Wednesday for a tense showdown with world leaders, as allies push back on his global order-shaking bid to seize control of Greenland. Trump, who landed at Zurich after a delay due to a “minor electrical issue” that forced Air Force One to turn back after takeoff, mocked the Europeans a day before heading to the World Economic Forum.
But leaders gathered at the Swiss ski resort have closed ranks against Trump, with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney warning of a “rupture” to the US-led global system and French President Emmanuel Macron vowing to stand against “bullies”. The united stand drew a rebuke from Trump’s Treasury chief Scott Bessent, who told Europeans to “take a deep breath” and wait for the president’s arrival to see what he has to say. “Do not have this reflexive anger that we’ve seen,” Bessent told reporters in Davos.
Trump was originally scheduled to give a speech to the annual gathering of the world’s economic and political elite at 2:30 pm (1330 GMT), though after his delayed arrival it was not immediately clear when he would speak. He earlier said he would have a number of meetings on Greenland at Davos, as his designs on the vast island open the biggest rift between Washington and its western allies in decades. Asked how far he was prepared to go to acquire the autonomous territory from Denmark, a fellow NATO member, Trump told reporters: “You’ll find out.” In a sign of the dissent against Trump, the words “No Kings” were dug into the snow overlooking mountain-fringed Davos overnight, referring to a US protest slogan.
Trump insists mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China as a melting Arctic opens up and the superpowers jostle for strategic advancement. But NATO chief Mark Rutte told Davos on Wednesday that “thoughtful diplomacy” was needed, as Trump’s claims over another ally’s territory provoke an existential crisis for the group. “There are these tensions at the moment, there’s no doubt,” said Rutte, who has been dubbed the “Trump whisperer” for his ability to deal with the US president. Rutte also pushed back against Trump, who has long told other countries to pay more for the alliance, and who on Tuesday said he doubted NATO would come to the aid of the United States if asked. “I tell him, yes they will,” Rutte said.
France called meanwhile Wednesday for a NATO exercise in Greenland “and is ready to contribute to it”, Macron’s office said. The French president had warned at Davos on Tuesday against US attempts to “subordinate Europe”, and blasted Trump’s “unacceptable” threats to impose tariffs on allies over Greenland. Europe has threatened countermeasures after Trump turned up the pressure by threatening levies of up to 25 percent on eight European countries for backing Denmark.
Trump however dismissed the prospect of a European trade “bazooka”. “All I have to do is meet it and it’s going to go ricocheting backward,” he said in an interview with News Nation, adding that he hoped they would be able to “work something out”. And Canada’s Carney — who has sought to reduce his own country’s dependence on Washington since Trump called for it to become the 51st US state — won a rare standing ovation at Davos for his stance. “We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney said of the US-led global system of governance.
In his own Davos speech, the White House said Trump wanted to focus on the US economy amid a cost-of-living crisis that threatens his Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections. But the US president’s extraordinary assertion of US power on the world stage one year into his second term means Greenland will form the backdrop to the address. Greenland’s prime minister said Tuesday that his tiny population of 57,000 must be prepared for military force.
On Thursday, meanwhile, Trump is set to formally announce the first charter of his so-called “Board of Peace,” a body for resolving international conflicts with a $1 billion price tag for permanent membership.
© 2024 AFP
