Warnings and profanity punctuate Greenland dispute at Davos
There were grave warnings from European leaders and expletives from California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as leaders grappled with a Greenland crisis and heightened concerns over global trade on Tuesday. The meeting comes as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to push for the seizure of Greenland and the imposition of related trade tariffs, according to the AP report.
With Trump not due to address the forum’s elite gathering until Wednesday, the comments Tuesday were delivered through a mix of heads of state and senior officials, reflecting a widening rift among Western partners over Greenland’s future and the economic fallout.
Newsom’s blunt message to Europe
In the forum’s entrance hall, Newsom offered the sharpest tone, telling European leaders: “It’s time to get serious and stop being complicit. It’s time to stand tall and firm – have a backbone.” He also said he “can’t take this complicity,” describing “People rolling over,” and added: “I should’ve brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders.”
Newsom said leaders’ behavior looked “pathetic” and that “I mean, at least from an American perspective, it’s embarrassing.” He then compared diplomacy with Trump to a predatory situation, saying: “Diplomacy with Donald Trump? He’s a T-Rex. You mate with him or he devours you.” He urged leaders to “Wake up!” and criticized what he called “(expletive) diplomacy of sort of niceties,” saying they were trying to “figure it out” by having “one thing privately and another publicly.”
He finished with a call for resolve: “Have some spine, some goddamn (expletive).”
Macron warns against a “new colonial approach”
French President Emmanuel Macron warned against what he described as a “new colonial approach” tied to the Greenland dispute. Before making that argument, he began his address with a joke: “It’s a time of peace, stability and predictability.”
He said the crisis pointed to “a shift towards a world without rules,” where international law is “trampled underfoot,” and where “the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest.” Macron also criticized the Trump administration’s strategy toward Europe, denouncing “competition from the United States of America” through trade agreements that he said undermine European export interests, demand maximum concessions, and “openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe,” alongside new tariffs he called fundamentally unacceptable when used as leverage against territorial sovereignty.
Carney presses multilateral “connections” and backs Greenland
In remarks focused on the structure of global power, Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister and former central banker, urged countries below the top tier to continue multilateral cooperation with what he called a new “dense web of connections.” He said great powers can afford to go it alone—citing market size, military capacity and leverage—while “Middle powers do not.”
Carney said middle powers must act together to avoid being excluded from decisions, arguing: “(We) argue the middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.” He also said he opposed U.S. aspirations to expand its Arctic territory, adding: “We stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark and fully support their unique right to determine Greenland’s future.”
Bessent defends U.S. position while tensions linger
In the same setting, Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, spoke while Trump was not due to address the forum until Wednesday. Bessent sought to play down the divide, saying: “I think our relations have never been closer,” and: “Calm down the hysteria. Take a deep breath.”
He argued the dispute sits within a broader partnership, saying: “We are in the middle of President Trump’s policies” and that Europe remains an ally with “U.S.-NATO membership … unquestioned.” Bessent said the two sides are partners in trying to stop what he described as the “tragic war between Russia and Ukraine,” while still allowing disagreements over “the future of Greenland.”
De Wever says red lines have been crossed
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said Trump’s Greenland provocations had crossed European lines. He said: “so many red lines have been crossed” and warned: “Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else,” saying: “If you back down now you’re going to lose your dignity.”
De Wever said he and Belgium’s King Philippe plan to meet with Trump on Wednesday to press for what he called a return to the old military alliance between Brussels and Washington. He said: “We either stand together or we will stand divided,” adding that division would be “the end of an era, of 80 years of Atlanticism, really drawing to a close.”
During the same Davos panel, he said it was up to Trump to decide whether he wants to be a “monster,” attributing the remark to Antonio Gramsci: “It’s up to him (Trump) to decide if he wants to be a monster - yes or no.”
Von der Leyen criticizes tariffs and urges independence
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that a diplomatic “downward spiral” in the West would embolden adversaries. She said: “The proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between long-standing allies,” and added: “And in politics, as in business, a deal is a deal.”
Von der Leyen said the European Union and the United States had agreed to a trade deal last July and argued Europe faced international pressure that required a response. She said: “if this change is permanent, then Europe must change permanently too,” and called it “time to seize this opportunity and build a new independent Europe.” She also said: “We consider the people of the United States not just our allies, but our friends,” warning that pushing allies into a downward spiral “would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape.”
Tusk warns against “appeasement” in social media post
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, writing on X, urged Europeans to beware of appeasement. He wrote: “Appeasement is always a sign of weakness. Europe cannot afford to be weak — neither against its enemies, nor ally,” and added that appeasement means “no results, only humiliation,” saying European “assertiveness and self-confidence have become the need of the moment.”