The speech delivered by Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos has heightened tensions between the United States and Europe, after the American president once again resorted to sarcasm, trade threats, and controversial statements against European allies, notes BBC.
Although Trump explicitly ruled out the use of military force to take over Greenland, his message was perceived by many European leaders as insulting and authoritarian, fueling dissatisfaction with Washington’s tone and reigniting the dispute over tariffs and territorial sovereignty.
“Without us, you would all be speaking German right now,” President Donald Trump told participants at the World Economic Forum on January 21, in the Swiss Alps.
Many people, from Brussels to Berlin and Paris, perceived his speech as insulting, authoritarian, and inaccurate. In his intervention, Trump supported the idea that Europe is heading in the wrong direction. It’s a theme he often addresses, but it has a different impact when spoken on European soil, directly in front of supposed friends and allies, notes BBC, quoted by Digi24.ro.
There is, undoubtedly, considerable relief across Europe after the US president ruled out at the Davos forum the use of military force to take over Greenland. Even if he keeps his word, the underlying issue remains the same: Trump wants a territory that the owners clearly say is not for sale.
“What is very clear after this speech is that the president’s ambition remains intact,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to journalists in Copenhagen, quoted by Digi24.ro.
He said that Trump’s statements about the military are “positive, taken in isolation.” Thousands of kilometers away from Davos, in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, authorities presented a new leaflet offering residents recommendations on what to do in case of a “crisis” on the territory.
The Minister for Self-Government, Peter Borg, stated that the document represents an “insurance policy” and clarified that the Greenland government does not expect to have to use it.
Essentially, Trump’s speech contained no hint of a possible renunciation of his current threat to impose new customs tariffs on the eight European countries he considers most guilty of blocking his Arctic ambitions.
The proposed 10% tariffs, set to take effect from February 1, were not even mentioned.
Any hope in Europe that President Trump might defuse this transatlantic crisis was shattered when he began to present his strong arguments for taking over the island.
He ignored the European position that Greenland is sovereign territory and presented its acquisition as a perfectly reasonable transaction, given the military support provided by the US to the continent for decades.
Trump insisted that the United States made a mistake when they “ceded” Greenland after gaining control over it during World War II. Greenland has never been part of the United States. Trump returned to his familiar refrain that NATO member European states have done nothing for the US. He particularly criticized Denmark, recalling that in 1940, it “fell into the hands of Germany after just six hours of fighting and was completely unable to defend itself and Greenland.”
This military history lesson, however, omitted the fact that Denmark was a key US partner in the invasion of Afghanistan and paid a high price. Denmark lost 44 soldiers, proportionally more than any other ally, except the United States. It also lost troops in Iraq, alongside American forces. Numerous other NATO allies supported the US after the attacks on September 11, 2001.
French President Emmanuel Macron was the target of most of the sarcasm. Trump ridiculed him for his appearance with sunglasses, stating that he had an eye problem, but also for his “hard” tone at the podium. Trump insisted that he likes Macron, before adding: “Hard to believe, isn’t it?”.
However, for many European leaders, the joke is beginning to wear thin. They have spent a year trying to flatter, impress, and appease the American president, and in return, they have faced the greatest threat so far.
The European Union meets on Thursday, January 22, in Brussels, in an emergency summit, and European leaders have chosen to use, in response to US policy, the harshest language so far.
The ball is now in Europe’s court, and BBC wonders: will they escalate the discourse on retaliation tariffs and resort to the EU’s “trade bazooka”? Or will they remain cautious and wait until February 1 to see if Trump will carry out his most recent threat?
BBC also points out that, at the beginning of his hour and 12-minute speech, often winding, President Trump boasted that, at home, “people are very pleased with me.”