<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no diplomacy with Donald Trump: he\u2019s a T rex. You mate with him or he devours you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Debate at the World Economic Forum annual meetings high in the Swiss alps is usually scrupulously polite, but as this year\u2019s gathering got under way in Davos<\/a> on Tuesday, California\u2019s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, had this blunt advice for handling the week\u2019s star speaker.<\/p>\n The US president was yet to arrive, but throughout the blond wood congress centre, the hottest topic among the global elite of business and politics \u2013 on and off conference stages \u2013 was Trump\u2019s intemperate attack on European allies, threatening punitive tariffs<\/a> if they fail to let him annex Greenland.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, kicked off the day by urging US allies to calm down<\/a>, accusing them of \u201chysteria\u201d in their reaction to the president\u2019s comments. \u201cWhat I am urging everyone here to do is sit back, take a deep breath, and let things play out.\u201d<\/p>\n A string of European leaders who addressed delegates on Tuesday seemed very reluctant to wait and see what the T rex is minded to do to them, however, when he arrives to give his Wednesday afternoon speech.<\/p>\n The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said recent chaotic events underlined the need for what she called \u201ca new form of European independence\u201d \u2013 and warned that it would be a mistake to expect a return to normal. \u201cNostalgia will not bring back the old order,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The French premier, Emmanuel Macron, also attempted to galvanise the European response to Trump<\/a>, with a warning about the risks of \u201cnew imperialism or new colonialism\u201d.<\/p>\n Wearing mirrored aviation sunglasses throughout because of an eye condition, Macron delivered a speech oozing criticism \u2013 and a smattering of sarcasm. \u201cIt\u2019s great to be here and it\u2019s a time of peace, stability and predictability,\u201d he said to peals of laughter.<\/p>\n He went on to warn of what he called, \u201ca shift toward autocracy against democracy \u2026 a shift towards a world without rules where international law is trampled underfoot, where the only law seems to be the strongest and imperial ambitions are resurfacing\u201d.<\/p>\n Unless the US president retreats on his Greenland threat, he suggested Europe might have to use its anti-coercion instrument, known as the \u201ctrade bazooka\u201d<\/a>, potentially imposing sweeping sanctions and tariffs. \u201cCan you imagine? This is crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Before addressing the packed congress hall, Macron made a show of shaking hands with European leaders, including von der Leyen, lined up in the front row.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s not accept the global order which will be decided by those who claim to have the bigger voice or the biggest teeth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n