President Trump is preparing to address the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland today and tomorrow, and as expected, his critics are already circling their favorite distractions. They want to talk about Greenland. Trump wants to talk about something else entirely: how he’s restored America as that shining city on a hill.
American excellence, it turns out, is not a dirty word—at least not to those who still understand how the world actually works. It’s not something to be ashamed of, and it’s not something that only benefits Americans. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made that case plainly to global leaders in Davos yesterday.
That idea—that a nation should take care of its own people first before lecturing others or absorbing the problems of the world—remains a foreign concept to much of Europe. Too many leaders there would rather spend their time criticizing America than fixing their own broken systems.
And it’s not just Europe missing the point. California Governor Gavin Newsom decided to join the Davos social club too, yukking it up with the very socialists he’s been trying to imitate back home. Instead of standing up for his country, Newsom used his moment on the world stage to urge Europe to join him in opposing his own president, Donald Trump.
Does this guy hear himself?
He’s asking foreign leaders to “stand united” against the United States. Newsom doesn’t care about American interests; he cares about soundbites, viral clips, and positioning himself as the anti-Trump before he officially launches his presidential run. It’s nauseating, it’s anti-American, and it’s wildly dishonest.
Because while Newsom pretends Europe is somehow complicit with Trump, France’s president Emmanuel Macron is doing the opposite—accusing Trump of trying to weaken and subordinate Europe on the global stage.
“And when we look at the situation, it’s clearly a very concerning time because we are killing the structure where we can fix the situation and the common challenges we have. Without collective governance, cooperation gives way to renounce this competition. Competition 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.”
The usual suspects—the far-left leaders of Europe—are once again marching in lockstep to the tune of “Trump is a bully.”
This, from governments that have relied on American taxpayers to fund their defense for decades. That dependency has bred a deep sense of entitlement: to our money, our military, and our patience. The idea that these same countries now feel entitled to lecture America about “territorial sovereignty” would be laughable if it weren’t so absurd.
I’ve already laid out the case for why acquiring Greenland—or at least maintaining operational control—is squarely in America’s national interest, and frankly, in the interest of any country that doesn’t want to be bullied by China or Russia. The real problem is that many of our so-called allies are growing increasingly comfortable crawling into bed with Beijing.
During that same Davos address, Macron warmly invited China into deeper partnership with France, openly begging for more foreign investment. And Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney went a step further, bragging about a brand-new “strategic partnership” with China—one he finalized this month while visiting Beijing and fawning over President Xi.
The last thing the world needs is a “new world order” with China sitting at the top. That should be a universal concern for leaders who put their own citizens first—which Carney clearly does not.
This deal with China will flood Canada’s electric vehicle market with Chinese cars that Canadians don’t actually want. Even Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a longtime supporter of Carney, has admitted the deal is bad for Canadians.
Ford has been unusually vocal in his opposition, and while I don’t often find myself agreeing with him, he’s exactly right here.
No, this isn’t leadership—it’s capitulation. And much of the so-called free world seems determined to surrender to the Chinese Communist Party.
In Carney’s case, it looks like he’s willing to sell out his own people just to take a swipe at Trump. In Europe’s case, it’s sheer incompetence: weak-kneed leaders shutting their eyes and holding their noses while making catastrophic decisions.
London, in particular, has completely rolled over. From open borders to this latest fiasco, the trend is unmistakable.
The British government has approved China’s plan for a massive new super-embassy in the heart of London, built atop a historic site near the Tower of London and the city’s financial district. The decision has united liberals and conservatives alike in opposition, with widespread concern over espionage and national security. None of that mattered to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who pushed it through anyway.
Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith summed up the danger plainly.
The deal only came together after China threatened retaliation against Britain’s embassy in Beijing, and the terms are entirely lopsided. London gets permission to make a few repairs overseas. China gets what will be the largest embassy in Europe, sitting directly on top of sensitive security and financial cables.
Calling it an “unmitigated disaster” might actually be generous.
And this follows another stunning surrender: the U.K.’s decision to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius. Those islands housed Diego Garcia, one of the most strategically important joint U.S.–U.K. military bases in the world. Mauritius, meanwhile, maintains close ties with China, which has heavily invested in its infrastructure and uses it as a gateway into Africa.
Which brings us back to Greenland.
We cannot afford to let Denmark—or any ally—repeat these mistakes. Time and again, America’s partners have shown they are more willing than they should be to cooperate with China. That reality cannot be allowed to undermine our national security.
Europe is focused on the wrong enemy. It’s not America. It’s not Trump. And President Trump is going to remind them of that loud and clear in Davos today and tomorrow. Whether anyone over there is willing to listen is another matter entirely.