President backed away from threats over Greenland but allies dare not regard avoidance of catastrophe as anything more than a respite
So deeply embedded in the realm of reality television is Donald Trump’s presidency that trying to apply any orthodox diplomatic measures of win or loss to his rumbustious appearance in Davos this week seems superfluous.
With his compulsive addiction to high-octane political drama, Trump had already achieved the improbable even before his arrival on Wednesday; transforming the normally somnolent Swiss Alpine resort into a unlikely setting for a high-noon confrontation with the US’s supposed European allies over Greenland.
The backdrop, lest it be forgotten, was the head-spinning prospect of turning the might of the US military against Greenland’s sovereign, Denmark – a founding member of Nato which last suffered an attack on its territory in 1940, when it was occupied by Nazi Germany.
The collective exhaling of breath by the august gathering at the World Economic Forum could be felt around the world when Trump announced that he was foregoing that option, even while stressing that it was open to him.
