There was moderate relief after US President Donald Trump walked back his threat to take Greenland by force on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, but also concern among critics and lawmakers that his speech was little more than a diversion at a time of significant global peril.
Attendees watching in the Davos Congress Centre and millions tuned in around the world received a full dose of unfettered Trump as, during his 70-minute speech, he slammed Nato member Denmark for not handing over Greenland and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; justified his Venezuela strike; held forth on global energy markets and praised the “eight other wars” he has settled.
But in characteristic fashion, Trump did not stick to global topics in addressing the pre-eminent global audience. Mixed in with his rambling comments was a healthy dose of domestic grievances and self-congratulation on topics ranging from the intelligence of “bandits” in Minnesota and how safe he has made Washington to US grocery prices and his fight against undeserved welfare recipients.
Much of the speech was a distraction, or worse, from the world’s many pressing issues, analysts said, citing its contrast with the serious, nuanced messages delivered by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other world leaders at Davos.
“It was the most headline-making speech ... but what Trump had to say didn’t matter all that much,” said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group consultancy.
“The point here is not Trump’s speech. The speech that mattered was Mark Carney’s speech, the Canadian Prime Minister, yesterday,” he added in a video from Davos.
Trump’s speech offered little new for the international community other than his pledge not to invade Greenland, a concession that was “never on the table”, Bremmer said.
Carney, however, signalled an important shift in global affairs, he added, namely that the “old rules-based order” is dead even as he called for a shift in how middle powers handle economic coercion.
Some economic experts were even more critical. Justin Wolfers, an economist from the University of Michigan, called the speech an “embarrassing ramble” that left America “humiliated” on the world stage.
In keeping with the often stark difference between Trump and past US presidents, the 79-year-old US leader was largely complimentary of traditional US adversaries, Russia and China, largely leaving them off his radar.
Trump only mentioned China three times, said Zhao Hai, a director of international politics with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, including a “false claim” about there being no wind farms in China.
He otherwise spoke about US-China competition over AI and cryptocurrency and how Chinese President Xi Jinping respects his policies.
US Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, said there is bipartisan support in Congress for “clear eyed engagement with China” and strong support for regional US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region, all secured by a robust US presence, which does not necessarily comport with Trump’s approach.
“Unfortunately, I think President Trump’s remarks tonight, his general approach and his conduct of the last year pulls in a different direction.”
Even as the US president soft-walked relations with Beijing and Moscow, he heaped criticism on Carney, French President Emmanuel Macron, Denmark for its oversight role over Greenland; various other European leaders and fellow Nato countries, criticising Europe as “not recognisable”.
“For both Macron and for the Canadian Carney, he had very negative things to say, basically demeaning in effect,” said Graham Allison, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in a panel at Davos on Wednesday.
“He clearly distinguishes between Xi and his relationship with Xi and his relationship with a country and a leader that happens to be our neighbour in Canada or France.”
Some, however, noted a potential silver lining in letting Trump air his varied concerns on the world stage.
“As insulting as his remarks were toward Europeans and Nato, they did leave space for Trump to call Danes names and move on to something else,” said Philip Gordon, a former official in the President Joe Biden administration who is now at the Brookings Institution.
But Gordon also slammed Trump’s highly questionable claim that the US should take Greenland while Ukrainians are “fighting for their lives” against Russian aggression, a contrast he termed “beyond insulting”.
“The bar is so low that ruling out use of force against a Nato ally is received as huge relief,” said Gordon, an analyst with the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.
But supporters of the president praised his speech as an important declaration of the effectiveness of Trump’s policies and plans.
“It’s working both for the US economy and for the global economy,” said Kevin Hassett, director of the president’s National Economic Council, on a Davos panel after the speech.
“The people who make the most noise attacking President Trump aren’t necessarily speaking for their countries.”
“We’re here to set the record straight with hard data so people can see what it takes to have a great, wonderful economy,” added Hassett. “And we hope that every country that’s here and everybody represented here listens.”
While European lawmakers could not help listening on Wednesday and in the lead-up to Davos, many expressed defiance rather than the resigned compliance Trump may have hoped for.
“The shift in the international order is not only seismic – but it is permanent,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, at a speech on Wednesday morning to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
“And the sheer speed of change far outstrips anything we have seen in decades. We now live in a world defined by raw power.”
Added Per Clausen with the Danish Enhedslisten, a democratic socialist party: “The EU cannot passively stand by while these fundamental principles are being challenged.”
“On the contrary, the EU must now clearly demonstrate its unwavering support for the -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
