At the Davos summit, Trump once again made the statements expected of him. He said, “I will not use military force for Greenland.” In reality, Trump had no other choice. The West is the US’s biggest partner and supporter in the world today. America is nothing without Europe, neither in Asia nor in the Middle East. What strengthens the USA’s presence are European countries, primarily the UK, France, and Germany.
Trump may see himself and his country in a distorted mirror, but he cannot fight Russia and China in the world without Europe. He is dependent on Europe under all circumstances. He cannot wage war against Europe for Greenland. At the Davos meeting, he spoke about the USA’s contribution to NATO and, referring to the past, implied that they saved Europe in World War II, but it was all empty talk. The past is in the past. He said, “We will always remember that Greenland was given to the USA.”
To demand a country’s territory and then say, “You didn’t give it to us, we will always remember you,” is a foolish attitude. Why would states give you their territory? If you have the power, you take it by force. If you can’t get what you want, you don’t hold a grudge. Besides, we won’t forget the countries that are your allies.
By threatening with “We will always remember you,” Trump could actually be considered to have backed down on Greenland. He essentially said he wouldn’t be insistent. It would have been foolish of him to antagonize all of Europe anyway, and he didn’t pursue that path.