class=”story”> Trump vs. U.S. allies: How will this end? January 22, 20265:00 AM ET
President Trump speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. The president said he wouldn’t use force to take control of Greenland. But his remarks were again highly critical of U.S. allies in Europe and elsewhere. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption
toggle caption Evan Vucci/AP
President Trump has backed off his threat to take Greenland by force.
Yet Trump still delivered a fresh round of highly inflammatory remarks at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday that once again rattled U.S. allies and threatened to tear down the pillars of the world order constructed by Washington 80 years ago.
“I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” Trump said of Greenland in a lengthy speech to the world leaders and other prominent figures assembled for the annual event in Davos, Switzerland.
The president made clear he still wants to the territory. Later, he took to social media and claimed there was a “framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.”
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Trump backs off tariff threats and hails ‘framework of a future deal’ on Greenland
Greenland was the crisis of the day. Yet if also reflected how Trump’s demands have created an increasingly hostile relationship with U.S. allies, leading to head-spinning changes to these long-standing partnerships.
U.S. allies have often tried to appease Trump to avoid open confrontation. However, his demand for territory belonging to Denmark, a close U.S. partner and a founding member of NATO, has crossed a line and prompted blunt responses from some.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech Tuesday at Davos went viral when he said the global order, built by the U.S. out of the ashes of World War II, is now tumbling down.
“Today I will talk about a rupture in the world order, the end of a pleasant fiction and the beginning of a harsh reality, where geopolitics, where the large, main power, geopolitics, is submitted to no limits, no constraints,” he said.
Carney didn’t mention Trump by name, but the implication was clear.
In a sign of the times, the Canadian leader visited China last week where he signed an economic agreement that calls for China to sell electric vehicles to Canada. The move comes as Trump’s tariffs on Canada have caused trade tensions over the past year. To drive home that point, Carney said China was now a more reliable partner than the U.S.
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Prior to Trump, nearly all U.S. presidents since World War II have worked largely from the same playbook based on a global network of military alliances, an emphasis on free trade and calls for greater democracy.
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Trans-Atlantic alliances fray as Trump threatens tariffs regarding Greenland
Transatlantic alliances fray as Trump threatens tariffs regarding Greenland
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