Trump’s taunts are growing tiresome for numerous European leaders.

“If it weren’t for us, all of you would currently be speaking German,” President Donald Trump remarked to his audience at the World Economic Forum located in the Swiss Alps on Wednesday.

He might have overlooked the fact that German is actually the most commonly spoken of Switzerland’s four official languages.

Numerous individuals – from Brussels to Berlin to Paris – probably perceived his address as demeaning, domineering, and erroneous.

In his speech, he introduced the notion that Europe is headed in a misguided direction. This is a recurring theme for Trump, yet it carries a different weight when articulated on European soil to the faces of presumed friends and allies.

There’s certainly an immense sense of relief throughout Europe that the US president dismissed the idea of using military force to annex Greenland during the Davos forum.

However, even if he adheres to his promise, the underlying issue remains that he desires a piece of property the current owners assert is not available for purchase.

Regardless, following the forum, Trump shared on social media that he was retracting his latest tariff threat against eight European nations he had deemed most culpable of obstructing his Arctic ambitions.

He asserted that he had “established the framework for a deal” regarding Greenland and the Arctic subsequent to a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

It remains unclear how this proposal would fulfill Trump’s declared goal of possessing the island outright.

The anticipated 10% tariffs had been set to commence on February 1.

“What is abundantly clear after this address is that the president’s aspirations remain unchanged,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen informed reporters in Copenhagen – prior to Trump sharing his retraction.

He remarked that Trump’s remarks concerning the military were “positive in isolation”.

Thousands of miles away from Davos, in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, local government officials revealed a new pamphlet advising residents on actions to take in case of a “crisis” within the territory.

Self-Sufficiency Minister Peter Borg described the brochure as “an insurance policy”. He added that Greenland’s government did not anticipate needing to utilize it.

Any expectations in Europe that President Trump would alleviate the pressure in this transatlantic dispute were dashed as he began to detail his unyielding rationale for acquiring the island.

He disregarded the European insistence that Greenland is a sovereign EU territory and framed its acquisition as a perfectly justifiable transaction, considering the military assistance the US has provided the continent for decades.

Trump maintained that the US had erred in “returning” Greenland after taking control of it during World War II.

Greenland has never belonged to the United States.

Trump returned to his habitual theme that the NATO member countries in Europe have contributed nothing for the US.

He made derogatory remarks about Denmark specifically while recalling how in 1940 it “succumbed to Germany after merely six hours of combat and was completely unable to defend itself or Greenland”.

Trump’s military history lesson omitted the fact that the Danes were significant allies during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and incurred heavy casualties.

Denmark lost 44 soldiers, a higher proportion than any other ally aside from the US. They also lost personnel serving alongside US troops in Iraq.

Numerous other NATO allies supported the US following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

French President Emmanuel Macron was the target of the most ridicule.

He was derided for wearing sunglasses on Tuesday – he had an eye condition – and his “forceful” rhetoric at the lectern.

Trump claimed to like Macron, then continued: “Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

Nonetheless, the entire joke is beginning to wear thin for various European leaders.

They have spent a year attempting to flatter, impress, and appease the US president, and in return have faced their biggest challenge to date.

The European Union is set to gather on Thursday in Brussels for an emergency summit, with senior European officials preparing to employ their most forceful language yet in reaction to US policy.

Trump’s retreat from the tariff threat that had mobilized EU nations will alleviate much of the strain during the meeting.

However, they will be eager to discover precisely what Trump and the NATO chief have devised as a solution.

They may now conclude that there is no further necessity to escalate the rhetoric concerning counter-tariffs and the implementation of the EU’s “trade bazooka”.

At the outset of his one hour and 12 minute rambling address, President Trump boasted that back home “people are quite pleased with me”.

Following this most recent astonishing round of Trumpian democracy, that sentiment is considerably harder to find in the Europe that the president professes to cherish greatly.