In Davos, Donald Trump outlines a “new order”. The US president points to enemies
A positive thing in Trump's speech was the exclusion of the use of force against Greenland. Although the very fact that the US president emphasizes the lack of willingness to take armed action against an ally says a lot about the situation in which the world finds itself.
The announced isolationism is mixed with imperialism and the madness of practicing politics in a way never seen before. What image emerges from this crucible?
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Trump has subordinated his foreign policy to building his legend among MAGA supporters. Perhaps he was trying to compensate for their disappointment with U.S. involvement after the intervention in Venezuela and potential action in Iran. Insertations about cheaper oil in some states or a drop in crime in Washington prove who the US president was primarily talking to in Davos.
Contradiction follows contradiction
Donald Trump argued that he needs Greenland to defend the free world against enemies, although at the same time he is ruining the foundations of this “free world” by demanding the island. He reminds us that prosperity in the United States means prosperity for the entire world, but he omitted that this will only work if the United States is strongly connected to others. The US president's argument falls apart, even apart from obvious factual errors – such as the fact that China does not build windmills (their capacity is estimated at 570 GW), or that the North Sea is the largest reservoir of raw materials in the world (in fact, the resources are smaller than, for example, in the Middle East).
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When we see reality becoming more and more comical, the natural temptation is to laugh at it and ignore it. In case However, when it comes to Poland's main ally and the world's greatest economic power, a similar conclusion would be a mistake.
NATO under fire. What's next?
“The United States is treated very unfairly by NATO (…). What we got from NATO is nothing, except protecting Europe from the Soviet Union and now Russia. I mean, we helped them for so many years. We never got anything, except that we pay for NATO, and we paid for many years until I came along. We paid for it, in my opinion, 100 percent of the cost of NATO,” argued Donald Trump, demanding urgent negotiations on the transfer Greenland.
Talking about the costs incurred is a repetition of many previous speeches, and this perspective was not unfounded. This time, however, something different was clearly heard – Trump talked about NATO as an institution external to the US and doubted the sense of the Alliance's existence at all. At the same time, he interrupted his speech as he looked for the complimented Secretary General, Mark Rutte. Appreciation for the Dutch politician was actually the only positive word towards the organization.
Donald Trump during his speech in Davos
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PAP/EPA/GIAN EHRENZELLER / PAP
Is this an announcement that the US will sideline the Alliance? Is it an announcement of the construction of a new security format? Donald Trump in Davos failed to outline any positive agenda that would be extremely important for countries such as Poland. And the only thing we know is that opponents of the “free world” (which Trump wants to defend) treat NATO as a real counterweight. To weaken it is to strengthen the autocrats. For Poland, the question is how to secure its interests in this situation and maintain relations with an unpredictable ally.
Trumpism, or the new-old economic paradigm
For business, apart from the news that Trump will not attack Greenland and at the same time undermines the point of NATO, there was some important information. The US president praised exemplary cooperation with Venezuela in the field of oil extraction. If this is not typical of Trump's “painting the grass green”, it means a gradual increase in supply on global markets predicted by analysts.
While raving about fossil fuels, Trump repeated his stance on green fraud, criticizing investments in windmills as renewable energy sources. Given the unfavorable American legislation, it is difficult to count on the revival of the industry in the USA.
Trump played the tune we know, praising his tariffs while making jabs at Great Britain and France. He pointed to successes in reducing taxes to benefit the poorest Americans. MAGA – This is the main reference point for his speech. However, he aspires to instill Trumpism among the global business elite. Appeals to world leaders to convert to the current US policy were repeated many times during the speech.
Trump doesn't see China?
Equally interesting, however, is what was again missing from Trump's speech. When he was outraged at European “ungratefulness” and decay, he practically omitted the topic of American-Chinese rivalry. He mentioned China only as “reasonable” in the context of selling renewable energy to other countries, and also indicated that the lack of US control over Greenland could be in Beijing's interest.
He did not take a position even despite provocations from Emmanuel Macron, who advocated during the WEF for Europe to more willingly accept Chinese investments.
Does this mean that Trump is clearing the European foreground before the clash with Beijing? Or maybe he is more cautious when formulating threats against China, because the customs war announced last year did not turn out to be a success and he had to partially withdraw from it? In Davos, Trump seemed eloquently silent.
From Davos Grzegorz Kowalczyk, journalist of Business Insider Polska
