New Delhi: The latest to speak on Trump’s recent aggressive stance on Greenland is Gavin Newsom, the governor of California. Speaking on the issue, Newsom accused
Europeans for their “complicity” in failing to stand up to Donald Trump’s demands over Greenland. Trump’s recent demands over annexation of Greenland and his threat to tariff European governments over it has EU anxiously divided.
Newsom attacks EU leaders
A frontrunner among Democratic candidates for president in 2028, Gavin Newsom told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday that Europeans were being “played” by Trump and that their efforts to negotiate with him were “not diplomacy, it’s stupidity”. “It’s time to buck up, it’s time to get serious and stop being complicit,” he told reporters. “I can’t take this complicity. People rolling over. I should have brought kneepads for all the world leaders … this is pathetic,” he said.
EU not united against Trump
Trump’s recent rhetoric over acquisition of Greenland, where he has not left out military action as an option, has Europe worried. Despite this, European leaders have been hesitant to open a clear line of action against the US President. The United States being a major trading partner for many in Europe and one on which they excessively rely on for security are reasons that seem to make it difficult for them to openly come in opposition to Trump.
A number of European leaders have been accused of acting in the role of “Trump whisperer”, looking to prevent him from withdrawing support for Ukraine or pulling out of NATO. Related to this, a number of European politicians wrote to Trump to seek meetings with him before the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. One which has raised eyebrows is that of Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of NATO and formerly the prime minister of the Netherlands.
Rutte is being seen as one who continues to take a flattering tone with Trump. He was seen as commending Trump over the conclusion of a ceasefire between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, saying to Trump “what you accomplished in Syria today is incredible”. “I will use my media engagements in Davos to highlight your work there, in Gaza, and in Ukraine,” Rutte added. The comments are representative of what one section of EU leaders are engaged in, whereby they are reluctant to act on Trump’s threats and continue to try to win him over or be on his good side.
Internal divisions within the European Union be it political, economic or military, thus remain a major reason that it has not been able to present itself as a united bloc over Trump’s aggressive tactics. Europe’s muted and fragmented response to Donald Trump’s aggression despite it being a direct attack on European sovereignty through Denmark, has reinforced a pattern of cautious diplomacy rather than coordinated resistance. The EU’s institutional structure, divided ideological positions and lack of assertion have, as many argue, been the biggest reason for Trump continuing to ‘bully’ Europe over Greenland.
