In the ever-evolving landscape of global diplomacy, another twist in the rollercoaster that is the Trump era has unfolded, leaving America’s allies both exasperated and relieved. The splenetic social media posts, bold claims, and provocative AI-generated images of a potential American acquisition of Greenland have once again set the diplomatic stage alight.
As so many of the furious rows begin on social media under this US president, the latest one has cooled considerably via the same platform, with a post on Trump’s Truth Social platform. The president has now dropped his threat of tariffs over Greenland, following discussions at the NATO summit.
Within the British government, there is a quiet pride that the UK has contributed to the diplomatic efforts that European neighbours and others have been engaged in over the past few days. The British diplomatic machine cranked up at every level, involving ministers, officials, and embassies.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted on the merits of “calm discussion” but had to carefully calibrate his response, both publicly and privately. At the core of this row was a fundamental public disagreement between Downing Street and the White House, something Sir Keir Starmer has sought to avoid where possible.
For Starmer, the integrity of a state, with Greenland’s future being for Greenlanders and Denmark to decide, was a non-negotiable bottom line. In the 48 hours or so since spelling that out explicitly, the risk hung in the air – could the carefully cultivated relationship with President Trump be uprooted before our eyes?
By Tuesday morning, it appeared the answer could be yes, with the president sounding off in capital letters about the government’s deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, an arrangement he had previously endorsed. Downing Street held its breath, before deciding to notch up its critique in the Commons on Wednesday.
Now, almost as quickly as the row accelerated, President Trump has hit the brakes. A deal has been done, the threat of tariffs and the reality of tub-thumping language has gone. Yet, as many have observed, we have heard this album before.
The president makes a provocative and to many outrageous suggestion, reaction around the world scatters in multiple directions, the White House has seized the agenda. The world, or at least the West, sputters, frets, contorts, and argues – and a solution is arrived at, but not before so many are brutally reminded of America’s brute force, when led by a man happy to be brutish in his approach.
And America’s friends and foes, catching their breath, ponder what will prompt the next diplomatic grenade from the Oval Office.
