Trump Touts Policies, Renews Greenland Ambitions at WEF

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As US President Donald Trump took the stage on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos he had the world's attention for well over an hour. 

His address — almost exactly a year after he returned to power in the White House and despite trouble with Air Force One — was highly anticipated yet no one really knew what to expect. Many feared the worst.

Focusing on American Greatness

Trump praised himself and his policies at home and abroad, hitting on things like tariffs, oil, cryptocurrency, inflation, interest rates, energy and what he calls the "green energy scam."

Overall, a lot of the address was devoted to highlighting his own domestic economic policies, something likely meant for an American audience more than an international one.

Still, the rambling talk was peppered with many digs at other countries, political leaders and "stupid people."

Trump Drops Tariff Threat

European governments have been reassessing their relationship with the US over the past year, especially since Trump started piling on tariffs.

Now his aggressive and repeated push to take over Greenland— the world's largest island and part of Denmark — have made a reassessment even more urgent.

The president recently said the US would get the island whether Europe liked it or not, adding "if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way."

Ahead of his Davos trip, he renewed the threat that countries that stand in his way would face stiff new tariffs.  

During his speech, he devoted a lot of time to Greenland and America's need to control it for national and international security reasons. He called Denmark "ungrateful" and the island a "big beautiful piece of ice."

He said he wanted negotiations to start immediately but, in a bid to de-escalate the situation, added he "won't use force." At the same time, he would be "appreciative" if Europe moved out of the way, adding in a menacing note: "Or you can say 'no' and we will remember." 

Shortly after the speech, however, he dropped the tariff threat after agreeing with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on a "framework of a future deal" involving Greenland and the wider Arctic region.

A Not-So-Subtle Message From Davos

Even before Trump left Washington, D.C. his impact could be felt in tiny Davos.

"Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited," Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told a WEF audience on Tuesday, without mention the US or Trump by name.

"Let me be direct: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition," Carney added.

Andrew Ng, an artificial intelligence (AI) entrepreneur, believes the speech gave countries a roadmap on how to best work with the US — and if that is not possible, it reinforced the need to look for alternatives.

Overall, when it comes to artificial intelligence, "the Trump approach to AI regulation has been sensible," Ng told DW in Davos. "But the difficulty in bringing high-skilled immigrants to the United States is a huge unforced error." The country should make it "easier not harder" to bring in talent to stay competitive, he added.   

Joe Kaeser, chair of the supervisory board of the energy unit of German engineering conglomerate Siemens, described Trump's speech as "good entertainment."

Speaking with DW, he criticized the Trump administration's continued focus on fossil fuels, saying he believed in a good mix of conventional and renewable sources. "The age of electrification is now really beginning," he told DW.

Other businesses are not so upbeat, since they see a lot of global volatility that makes planning and investing more difficult.

Investors seem particularly leery of what US bullying could mean for the transatlantic relationship, the NATO military alliance, and global trade in general.

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