As the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting kicked off in Davos, Switzerland, the global elite of business and politics found themselves bracing for the arrival of a particularly disruptive guest – US President Donald Trump. With his trademark unpredictability and confrontational style, the American leader’s speech on Wednesday has become the talk of the town, sparking a flurry of pre-emptive positioning from European leaders.
Tensions were already palpable even before Trump’s arrival, with California Governor Gavin Newsom offering blunt advice to the Davos crowd: “There’s no diplomacy with Donald Trump: he’s a T. rex. You mate with him or he devours you.” This sentiment was echoed by a string of European leaders, who used their platform at the conference to warn of the risks posed by Trump’s “new imperialism or new colonialism.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a “new form of European independence,” while French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a scathing critique of the shift “toward autocracy against democracy” and the resurgence of “imperial ambitions.” Macron even suggested Europe may have to wield its “trade bazooka” – its anti-coercion instrument – to impose sweeping sanctions and tariffs if the US president refuses to back down on his Greenland threat.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney also used his keynote speech to sound the death knell for the rules-based global order, warning countries against the temptation to “accommodate” and “avoid trouble” in the face of Trump’s disruptive tactics. “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” Carney cautioned.
The US delegation, however, remained defiant. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick argued that “globalisation has failed the West and the United States of America” and urged other nations to prioritise their own interests, just as the US intends to do. Lutnick predicted the Greenland “kerfuffle” would eventually be resolved through dialogue rather than trade war, insisting: “When America shines, the world shines.”
With both sides of the increasingly raw global divide on clear display, the stage is set for Trump’s highly anticipated address to the Davos crowd. While some analysts suggest the president may seek to strike a more conciliatory tone, the general consensus is that the “T. rex” is poised to make quite an entrance.
