Mr. Trump and the Davos divide

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Those of a religious bent might accuse stereotypical “Davos Man"—immense fortune, private jet, outrageous hypocrisy, spine-tingling pomposity—of the sin of pride. In which case President Trump’s speech Wednesday to the World Economic Forum at Davos felt like a form of divine retribution.

It was a wild day, with Mr. Trump berating Europe even as he said he won’t invade Greenland after all. America’s allies (and their many friends in the U.S.

Congress) have been reeling since Mr. Trump on Saturday threatened to impose tariffs on a handful of countries if they obstruct his effort to buy the arctic island from Denmark. What a difference a market rout on Tuesday makes.

U.S. stock indexes soared Wednesday on word that he won’t invade. And they climbed again when several hours later Mr.

Trump announced he won’t impose the tariffs after he had reached a “framework of a future deal" on Greenland with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Details to come. Yet how embarrassing for Europe in particular.

Mr. Trump pointed out that Denmark and other European allies would struggle to defend Greenland from the U.S. or anyone else.

“It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it," he said. Which is true. This followed a long riff about Europe’s many economic dysfunctions, especially on energy policy.

He referred to the European Union’s flagship Green New Deal climate policies as the “green new scam," chastised Britain for failing to tap more North Sea oil, and mocked the “catastrophic energy collapse which befell every European nation" in recent years. Also all true. Call it the Davos disconnect.