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This week at Davos, world leaders issued stark warnings about the threat Trump poses to global stability. But rhetoric won’t be enough to stop him. Without action that risk becomes immediate. They need to act now before Trump escalates things further and sends troops into Greenland.
California Governor Gavin Newsom put it bluntly, telling Europeans that the one thing they can’t do now is keep doing what they’ve been doing. Trump is playing them for fools. Europe should have been having this conversation far earlier.
“A year ago you should have this conversation, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price.”
Trump gave them the runway in the lead-up to “Liberation Day,” previewing it for months like it was a Marvel movie. And instead of preparing a plan, Europe did… nothing.
Now, almost a year later, we’re watching European leaders continue to make the same mistake in real time. And they’re running out of it. They need to course correct. Now.
We’re Seeing a Pattern
They’re certainly trying. French President Emanuel Macron (donning sunglasses for his speech) referred to a “shift towards a world without effective collective governance,” when what we’re seeing is a critical breakdown of established norms and the stable world order.
“Multilateralism is weakened by powers that obstruct it or turn away from it, and rules are undermined.”
Now, it’s been a minute since my last English class, but this is textbook passive voice. You’re standing on the literal world stage, and you’re going with passive? Trump doesn’t do subtext.
“A” for effort. But he’s confusing rhetoric with leverage. If I could give Europe one note here, it’s “show, don’t tell.”
Trump shows no loyalty to allies once their usefulness ends. That’s a psychological trap many people have fallen into. Just ask Michael Cohen, Rex Tillerson, Mike Pence, Ronna McDaniel, Marjorie Taylor Greene, etc etc etc.
They all made the same mistaken assumption, supplicating to the king, thinking it would buy them loyalty. It doesn’t, nor will it ever.
There’s a Solution
One person at Davos had the right idea.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney actually picked up the sword. He talked about action. Canada has already taken practical steps to protect itself from Trump’s aggression by shoring up its economy at home and strategically looking abroad. In his speech, in addition to European allies, Carney name-dropped Qatar and China.
Trump should be worried if our former allies are leaning into “enemy of my enemy” tactics.
And he named the most important tool to wield against Trump. Strength. It’s the only language he understands.
Capitulation is a Losing Proposition
Here’s what happens when you try to appease Trump: he walks all over you. Giving in to his demands only invites more aggression. Look what happened to CBS News after they caved and paid the $16 million to settle the lawsuit over Trump’s spurious claim that editing a Kamala Harris interview was “election interference.” (Every lawyer in America knew the suit had absolutely no merit.)
Sure, CBS’s parent company, Paramount, smoothed over any bumps in the road towards their merger approval. But all they did was prove to Trump that they can be bought and owned. Next, we see Bari Weiss installed as editor-in-chief of CBS News, which is quickly becoming a mouthpiece for the Trump administration. Starting to notice the trend?
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The Only Way to Win
To beat Trump at his own game, you have to turn his own tactic against him.
Trump imposes tariffs? Tariff him right back. Remember— the economy is his Kryptonite. A year in, his “no pain, no gain” approach to fixing the economy has barely added any jobs, and only made it harder for the average American to get by.
Economic pressure is politically unpopular. “The price of eggs” sent voters straight to the ballot box in 2024. Affordability moves Americans, because it’s something they feel, every day.
Trump loves the spectacle of threatening tariffs. It makes him feel strong. But he’s shooting himself in the foot.
So if Europe really wants to fix the problem, it’s time for the big guns. Europe accounts for almost 20% of trade with the US. If they cut off US companies’ access to their 450 million customers it would inflict real pain.
Europe’s financial “bazooka” is the leverage that will beat out rhetoric, every time. Load it up.
Inaction Has Consequences
If Europe fails to respond to Trump’s threats to invade Greenland, it raises the possibility of a serious destabilization of NATO. If allies start attacking one another, the world becomes less safe for everyone.
And it sets a dangerous precedent. If the US feels entitled to Greenland, what’s to stop China from taking over Taiwan - a small country that’s a crucial source of the world’s semiconductors? Why wouldn’t Russia expand its assault on Ukraine to Belarus, or any of the other territories it had its eye on?
Act Now or It’s Too Late
This isn’t about outsourcing responsibility to Europe. It’s about giving us the leverage to do the work ourselves.
This isn’t a future problem. There is no 2028 without action in 2026.
The existence of a future election depends on what we do today.
We are in a real-time inflection point, and this is about what we all can do, right now.
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