DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron, wearing aviator sunglasses because of an eye infection, warned of a \u201cnew colonial approach\u201d that would undermine decades of collaboration.<\/p>\n
California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed Europe\u2019s response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats over Greenland on Tuesday. (Source\tASSOCIATED PRESS)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister and former central banker, urged countries below the top tier of global power to continue multilateral cooperation with a new, \u201cdense web of connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
And in the forum\u2019s entrance hall, Newsom was the most blunt, telling European leaders: \u201cIt\u2019s time to get serious and stop being complicit. It\u2019s time to stand tall and firm \u2013 have a backbone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at what attendees said:<\/p>\n
Gavin Newsom<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t take this complicity. People rolling over. I should\u2019ve brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders,\u201d the California governor and prominent Democrat said. \u201cI hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage. I mean, at least from an American perspective, it\u2019s embarrassing.\u201d He added: \u201cDiplomacy with Donald Trump? He\u2019s 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\u2019re all going to figure it out, saying one thing privately and another publicly. Have some spine, some goddamn (expletive).\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmanuel Macron<\/p>\n
Before expressing his concern, the French president began his address with a joke: \u201cIt’s a time of peace, stability and predictability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warning major powers against the temptation of modern colonial adventures, he added: \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d Then he took aim at the Trump administration, denouncing \u201ccompetition 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark Carney<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat powers can afford for now to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, and the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not,\u201d the Canadian prime minister said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: compete with each other for favor or to combine to create a third path with impact,\u201d he said. \u201c(We) argue the middle powers must act together because if we\u2019re not at the table, we\u2019re on the menu.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carney strongly opposed U.S. aspirations to expand its Arctic territory. \u201cWe stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark and fully support their unique right to determine Greenland\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott Bessent<\/p>\n
With President Trump not due to address the elite global gathering until Wednesday, it fell to his treasury secretary to take up his defense in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think our relations have never been closer,\u201d Scott Bessent said, playing down the rift among Western countries over Greenland. \u201dCalm down the hysteria. Take a deep breath.”<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe are in the middle of President Trump\u2019s policies. And of course, Europe is an ally, the U.S.-NATO membership is unquestioned. We are partners in trying to stop this tragic war between Russia and Ukraine, but that does not mean that we cannot have disagreements on the future of Greenland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bart De Wever<\/p>\n
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said that with Trump\u2019s Greenland provocations, \u201cso many red lines have been crossed\u201d in Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else. If you back down now you\u2019re going to lose your dignity,\u201d he said during a Davos panel discussion on redefining Europe\u2019s place in the world.<\/p>\n
De Wever said that he and Belgium\u2019s King Philippe will meet with Trump on Wednesday when they will plan to press for a return to the old military alliance between Brussels and Washington.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe either stand together or we will stand divided, and if we are divided, there is the end of an era, of 80 years of Atlanticism, really drawing to a close,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The former mayor of Antwerp, quoting the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci, said that in a time of great transformation that it is up to U.S. president if the alliance holds. \u201cIt\u2019s up to him (Trump) to decide if he wants to be a monster – yes or no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ursula von der Leyen<\/p>\n
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a diplomatic \u201cdownward spiral\u201d in the West would only embolden its adversaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d the EU\u2019s top official said.<\/p>\n
The Commission president said Europe was obliged to respond to international pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy 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,\u201d von der Leyen said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) \u2014 There were grave warnings from European leaders and expletives from California Gov. Gavin Newsom…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":{"0":"post-143439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bakersfield","8":"tag-bakersfield","9":"tag-bakersfield-headlines","10":"tag-bakersfield-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}