The World Finally Bands Together Against Trump the Bully… Maybe

At Davos, Trump backed down on Greenland, lashed out at allies, and reminded the world why collective resistance—not appeasement—is the only answer.

There are just two ways to deal with a playground bully. One is to stand alone against him. That’s what a few nations did as Donald Trump threatened them with enormous tariffs—and then backed down. The other way, favored in movies, involves the smaller kids banding together to overwhelm the bad guy. That is what has happened in response to Trump’s threats to take the semi-autonomous territory of Greenland from Denmark.

Faced with condemnation from much of Western Europe, Trump told an elite audience at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that he would not use force to gain control of Greenland. But declaring, “that’s our territory,” he demanded immediate negotiations to give the United States authority over the vast island. He warned ominously, “You can say no and we will remember.”

Trump’s retreat from force prevented—at least for the moment—the disruption, if not the destruction, of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has provided security for the West for more than 75 years. An American invasion could have triggered a mutual response from the rest of the alliance. His backtracking also calmed financial markets, which had nosedived in response to his saber-rattling.

As journalists present reported, the Davos audience seemed relieved by Trump’s statement about Greenland but otherwise puzzled—and often bored—by what he said over the course of his hour-long speech. He opened his familiar schtick by pointing out that the crowd included “a few enemies,” then announced that while he liked Europe, “it’s not heading in the right direction.”

Trump veered into renewable energy, calling countries that rely on it “stupid people” and praising China for not developing wind farms—despite the fact that China generates more wind power than any nation on Earth.

There was a mean-spirited edge to Trump’s remarks. He denigrated other nations, complained that some were insufficiently grateful to the United States, and launched into a major digression aimed at one of his favorite domestic targets, Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar. “She comes from a country that’s not a country, and she’s telling us how to run America,” he said, before adding ominously, “she’s not going to get away with it much longer.”

While replaying a medley of grievances, our babbling president again attacked his predecessor Joe Biden, repeated his claim that the 2020 election was stolen, and branded the press “crooked.” He also unleashed his usual stream of lies. He falsely claimed to have ended eight wars, asserted that he secured $18 trillion in foreign investment, said drug prices fell “2,000 percent” under his leadership, and claimed hundreds of steel plants had opened. And then—without irony—he said he has “tremendous respect” for both the people of Greenland and Denmark.

The contrast with the reception for Canada’s prime minister the day before could not have been sharper. In his speech, Mark Carney warned that we are living in a time when “the rules-based order is fading,” and that “the strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must.” Without naming Trump, Carney called for collective action. “The middle powers must act together,” he said, “because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”

Trump, however, made it personal. “Canada gets a lot of freebies from us,” he complained. “They should be grateful—but they’re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday, he wasn’t so grateful. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

He even went after the host country. Trump mocked Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who had called him to protest a 30 percent U.S. tariff. “She was very repetitive,” he said. “She just rubbed me the wrong way.” His response was to raise the tariff in retaliation. “I made it 39 percent,” he bragged.

In Davos, Trump revealed himself yet again as a petty, grandiose authoritarian who believes he is America. In doing so, he reminded the world that the United States can no longer be relied upon as a source of stability or integrity. We are a nation locked in an existential struggle—against him.

By the time Trump finished his tirade of lies, insults, and exaggerations, the crowd had thinned noticeably. Apart from his own aides, who applauded enthusiastically, he received little more than polite clapping. The bully had been confronted—and then embarrassed himself.