America’s closest allies declared an end to the U.S.-led global order on Tuesday, concluding that President Trump’s relentless coercion had exposed its fatal flaws. Why it matters: Gone are the days of world leaders tiptoeing around Trump, whose first year in office — capped by a crisis over Greenland — has crystallized fears that the old order cannot be salvaged. “Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said of Trump’s threats to impose tariffs over Greenland. “If you back down now, you will lose your dignity.”. The unusually blunt rhetoric echoed across the World Economic Forum, where Trump will arrive Wednesday to a summit already gripped by diplomatic tension and market anxiety. Zoom in: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen likened Trump’s hostility toward allies to the “Nixon shock” of 1971 — the moment the U.S. upended the postwar economic order by abandoning the gold standard.
The great Davos divorce: America’s allies draw red line with Trump
