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.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a diplomatic “downward spiral” would only embolden the West’s adversaries.
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:
Gavin Newsom
“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).”
Ursula von der Leyen
“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.”
Emmanuel Macron
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.”
