Name: How should world leaders react to Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum? | DW New
Uploaded: 2026-01-21T17:11:04.000Z
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Donald Trump's threats to take over Greenland are dominating the World Economic Forum.

Basic passive voice

In Switzerland, where the US President is expected to arrive in the coming hours.

Ahead of the annual meeting of global leaders, he was asked how far he was willing to go to acquire the Danish territory, to which Trump replied, you'll find out.

As Davos woke up early on Wednesday morning, there was only one topic on everyone's mind.

The impending arrival of the big sheriff in town, the President of the United States.

We'll move to the next Treasury Secretary.

Scott Besant, who is already in Davos ahead of Trump's highly anticipated speech, reiterated America's desire to acquire Greenland.

Just as I said after Liberation Day last year, I would tell everyone, take a deep breath, do not have this reflexive anger that we've seen and this, the bitterness.

Why don't they sit down, wait for President Trump to get here and listen to his argument?

Because I think they're going to be persuaded.

French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen did gently push back against Trump's territorial claims while speaking at the economic Forum on Tuesday.

But one of the US President's strongest critics and political adversaries, California Governor Gavin Newsom, accused leaders of capitulating to Donald Trump.

Just, I can't take this complicity, people rolling over.

I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders.

And I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage.

I mean, least from an American perspective, it's embarrassing.

The US President is due to arrive in Switzerland several hours late after Air Force One was forced to return to Joint Base Andrews after what was described as a small electrical issue.

As European leaders and the world brace for what could be a consequential speech rewriting decades of global alliances, Maya Hooge joins us from the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Newsom warns European leaders don't take it lying down.

Besant, as we heard there, said, deep breaths.

How should officials be reacting to Trump's plans to seize Greenland?

I think they're sort of, how should they or how have they been?

Is combining these two advices one year into Donald Trump's second term.

I think European leaders have learned the hard way that just flattery and persuasion doesn't work with President Trump and that you need to show strength and push back.

On the other Hand, just talking tough without using actual leverage does not work either.

So you have to show pushback and combine it, obviously, with dialogue, which is, I think, what in between unified statements that EU leaders have issued on Greenland, some of the sort of political unity that has been shown behind standing behind Denmark, stronger NATO, European Arctic posture, and

possibly use of some economic leverage would really increase the costs for such an operation in Greenland and make importantly, these costs very visible.

We've already heard from the French leader that we could see the bazooka pulled out.

Is the bazooka enough to hold back Trump when it comes to tariffs over Greenland?

Well, I guess there's sort of two objectives that you'd have hold them back with tariffs, and

the other one is, again, visibly increase the costs for the president, not just internationally, but

also domestically for the threats of taking Greenland's territory.

I think what we need to keep in mind is that unlike some other projects, this one is really President Trump's own fixation.

And there's not that much support in the American public, among Trump's base or in Congress or even in the Cabinet for this adventure.

And so I think it would boil down to EU being able to credibly threaten the use of anti coercion instrument in order to demonstrate to American public as well and American sort of political elites that the Greenland adventure would trigger not just counterterrorifs, but

also limits on market access in the EU and the alliance fallout within NATO.

And so that's when Washington would start asking whether this is all worth it.

Because at the moment, it's the American public starting to hurt domestically over prices, inflation, I guess, going down the tariff road, which would really see that approach become even more difficult for the American public.

So you reckon that's where it's going to hurt Trump most?

I mean, is he someone who's in touch with what people are paying for eggs and milk and meat?

I think the real question is, would he back off if these costs became visible and credible?

And if you listen very carefully to his statements before, you know, boarding the plane to Davos, he already signaled that, you know, an agreement with NATO will be found.

So I think that we need to stop taking his threats as absolutely inevitable.

This is obviously a real risk because American military presence in Greenland is uncontested.

But I Think if we had heard the same threats made before the Venezuela operation, we would have probably taken them a little bit with, with a grain of salt.

And, you know, after Venezuela operation, the president is almost on sugar high, feeling that he can do anything that he wants.

I still believe that given the constellation of all of the factors, we really need to sort of look at the credibility of his threats through the prism of how easy does he see this operation as unfolding.

If he sees no costs and no counter pressure, no costs internationally, no costs to the NATO alliance or no cost domestically, clearly this would embolden him to go further.

But I think that sort of a united pushback, and

also on the level of narrative that would raise costs again domestically and internationally would probably help get to a ramp up.

Okay, so the strong armed approach, a united pushback, it all sounds like we are going to get a showdown here in Davos.

Well, you know, you've already seen some of that yesterday.

I think if you listen carefully to the speech of Canadian Prime Minister Carney, it is very clear that the showdown has already happened.

The world leaders are coming out and clearly stating that there is a rupture in the system that we were holding.

So there of international rules, rules of norms, of collective prosperity and security.

And I think we, you know, Greenland is clearly a trigger of this showdown.

When President Trump arrives with, you know, his speech, public statements and backdoor negotiations, I presume that there is likely going to be some sort of an agreement that will calm the tensions down.

Okay, we will be watching this space closely.

Maida Rouge, thank you very much for joining us today from the European Council on Foreign Relations.