Yet again, Trump rambles at the world

Well, if it wasn’t completely out in the open before, it most certainly is now.

On Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, U.S. President Donald Trump delivered perhaps the most blunt declaration to date of his ambition — or might that be obsession? — for his country to acquire the autonomous Danish-controlled territory of Greenland.

Citing, as he repeatedly has without logical explanation, national and global security concerns, Trump called his demand for Denmark to turn over control of Greenland (to which he referred several times as Iceland during the rambling 75-minute address) a “very small ask” for “a piece of ice” that has crucial strategic importance to the United States.

After criticizing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for having done nothing for the U.S. and describing Europe as “not heading in the right direction,” Trump demanded immediate negotiations aimed at transferring ownership of Greenland.

The bright spot in Trump’s tirade, if there was one, was his declaration Wednesday that the U.S. would not use military force to acquire Greenland. “That’s probably the biggest statement,” he declared, “because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

As unsettling as it was, the portion of Trump’s speech (some might be more inclined to call it a rant) dealing with the Greenland question was among its few topic-focused passages. Much of his time at the podium was spent clearly deviating from the teleprompter text to veer into various personal gripes and petty grievances, ranging from the “unfair” manner in which U.S. media outlets portray his accomplishments to his contempt for Minnesota’s Somali population to his curiosity about French President Emmanuel Macron’s sunglasses.

When contrasted against Tuesday’s powerful and purposeful oration by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump’s address seems even more off the rails — sort of like comparing a carefully measured blending of ingredients in a food processor with tossing whatever comes to mind into an uncovered blender and turning the dial to “high” — with the lid off.

And while the PM departed the summit before Trump’s Davos diatribe began, it’s clear the U.S. president heard what Carney had to say the previous day about “the rupture in the world order” and the need for the globe’s middle powers to unite. His extended remarks about Greenland included a reference to Canada’s dependence on the U.S. for economic and military security, and his perception that Carney lacks suitable gratitude for it.

“I watched (Carney) yesterday; he wasn’t so grateful,” Trump said. “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, next time you make your statements.”

What remains now, in the wake of Wednesday’s event, is the reaction of Denmark, the European Union and the international community to Trump’s no-longer-thinly-veiled threats regarding Greenland’s future. It seems likely the standoff will continue, with the U.S. position deeply entrenched and NATO-member European interests unwilling to cede autonomous territory to the globe’s emerging and voraciously acquisitive bully power.

Trump may have been rubbed the wrong way by his words, but Carney was absolutey right: “We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition … Great powers (have begun) using economic integration as weapons. Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.

“You cannot ‘live within the lie’ of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination.”

Trump has made his intentions clear. Regardless of how the rest of the world reacts, the next bit is going to be messy.