In their words: Trump’s threats over Greenland draw warnings and profanities at global forum

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DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — There were grave warnings from European leaders and expletives from California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday as leaders at the World Economic Forum grappled with the Greenland crisis and heightened concerns over global trade.

The gathering in Davos, Switzerland, comes as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to push for the seizure of Greenland and the imposition of related trade tariffs.

French President Emmanuel Macron, wearing aviator sunglasses because of an eye infection, warned of a “new colonial approach” that would undermine decades of collaboration.

Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister and former central banker, urged countries below the top tier of global power to continue multilateral cooperation with a new, “dense web of connections.”

And in the forum’s entrance hall, Newsom was the most blunt, telling European leaders: “It’s time to get serious and stop being complicit. It’s time to stand tall and firm – have a backbone.”

Here’s a look at what attendees said:

“I can’t take this complicity. People rolling over. I should’ve brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders,” the California governor and prominent Democrat said. “I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage. I mean, at least from an American perspective, it’s embarrassing.” He added: “Diplomacy with Donald Trump? He’s a T-Rex. You mate with him or he devours you. One or the other ... Wake up! Where the hell has everybody been? Stop with this (expletive) diplomacy of sort of niceties and somehow we’re all going to figure it out, saying one thing privately and another publicly. Have some spine, some goddamn (expletive).”

Before expressing his concern, the French president began his address with a joke: “It's a time of peace, stability and predictability.”

Warning major powers against the temptation of modern colonial adventures, he added: “It’s a shift towards a world without rules. Where international law is trampled underfoot and where the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest, and imperial ambitions are resurfacing.” Then he took aim at the Trump administration, denouncing “competition from the United States of America, through trade agreements that undermine our export interests, demand maximum concessions, and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe, combined with an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable, even more so when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty.”

“Great powers can afford for now to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, and the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not,” the Canadian prime minister said.

“In a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: compete with each other for favor or to combine to create a third path with impact,” he said. “(We) argue the middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”

Carney strongly opposed U.S. aspirations to expand its Arctic territory. “We stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark and fully support their unique right to determine Greenland’s future.”

With President Trump not due to address the elite global gathering until Wednesday, it fell to his treasury secretary to take up his defense in Switzerland.

“I think our relations have never been closer,” Scott Bessent said, playing down the rift among Western countries over Greenland. ”Calm down the hysteria. Take a deep breath."

He added: “We are in the middle of President Trump’s policies. And of course, Europe is an ally, the U.S.-NATO membership is unquestioned. We are partners in trying to stop this tragic war between Russia and Ukraine, but that does not mean that we cannot have disagreements on the future of Greenland.”

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said that with Trump’s Greenland provocations, “so many red lines have been crossed” in Europe.

“Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else. If you back down now you’re going to lose your dignity,” he said during a Davos panel discussion on redefining Europe’s place in the world.

De Wever said that he and Belgium’s King Philippe will meet with Trump on Wednesday when they will plan to press for a return to the old military alliance between Brussels and Washington.

“We either stand together or we will stand divided, and if we are divided, there is the end of an era, of 80 years of Atlanticism, really drawing to a close,” he said.

The former mayor of Antwerp, quoting the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci, said that in a time of great transformation that it is up to U.S. president if the alliance holds. “It’s up to him (Trump) to decide if he wants to be a monster - yes or no.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a diplomatic “downward spiral” in the West would only embolden its adversaries.

“The proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between long-standing allies. The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July. And in politics, as in business, a deal is a deal,” the EU’s top official said.

The Commission president said Europe was obliged to respond to international pressure.

“My point is: if this change is permanent, then Europe must change permanently too. It is time to seize this opportunity and build a new independent Europe,” von der Leyen said. “We consider the people of the United States not just our allies, but our friends. And plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape.”