The true danger posed by Donald Trump

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. EUROPEANs EXPECTED a diatribe, but in Davos President Donald Trump was almost conciliatory. He demanded “right, title and ownership" of Greenland, but abandoned tariffs, ruled out force and later hailed new “framework" talks.

That should be a relief to America’s allies everywhere. A crisis that threatened to engulf the transatlantic alliance has eased. But for how long? This may be only a tactical retreat.

Mr Trump has coveted Greenland for years. In setting out his claim he spoke about NATO with a contempt that should put the capitals of Europe on high alert. The Greenland crisis holds lessons for all countries.

One is that Mr Trump will buckle under pressure, without necessarily surrendering his long-term goals. Another is that the president’s narrow, pessimistic view of the world and his willingness to rewrite history has eroded the trust which used to underpin America’s alliances. Last, it follows that every falling-out under Mr Trump threatens to be existential.

He portends a global realignment for which America’s allies must prepare. With Greenland, Europe was lucky. It got through this round because Mr Trump chose to pick a fight over a prize of almost no strategic value to America.

Mr Trump argues, correctly, that the Arctic will be contested as its melting ice admits the world’s navies. Greenland is a site for early-warning stations that protect America from attack, he says. If the island belongs to America, neither Russia nor China will dare strike it.