Gavin Newsom has urged European leaders to “stand tall” in their dealings with Donald Trump, accusing them of appearing deferential as the US president presses his demand for control of Greenland and threatens fresh tariffs on allies.
The governor of California made the remarks on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, in an interview in which he said international leaders were “rolling over” and should “have a backbone”. He added: “I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders.”
Mr Trump’s latest dispute with Europe centres on Greenland, the self-governing Arctic territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. On Saturday he said he would impose additional 10 per cent import tariffs from 1 February on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Great Britain, rising to 25 per cent from 1 June, unless the United States reaches a deal to purchase Greenland.
The threat lands as leaders gather in Switzerland for the annual Davos meeting, where trade, security and geopolitical risk dominate the agenda. European officials have treated the tariff warning as part of a broader attempt by Mr Trump to extract concessions from allies through trade policy, while Denmark has insisted that Greenland’s future cannot be decided by Washington.
In London, Sir Keir Starmer has sought to lower the temperature. He said a trade war was “not the right way to resolve our differences” within an alliance and appeared to rule out immediate retaliatory tariffs.
The European Commission has taken a firmer line on sovereignty while signalling that Brussels is preparing options if the US proceeds. Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission president, said the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland were “non-negotiable” and described the tariff threat as a strategic error that could damage transatlantic cooperation. She said the Commission was working on a package to strengthen Arctic security and increase investment in Greenland’s economy and infrastructure, including discussion of European icebreaker capabilities.
Some EU member states have pointed to the bloc’s Anti-Coercion Instrument, designed to respond to economic pressure from third countries, as a potential tool if Washington implements the measures. The mechanism allows the EU to impose countermeasures, though it has not been used in a major confrontation with the United States.
Mr Newsom, a prominent Democratic critic of Mr Trump, framed the issue as a test of political resolve rather than a technical trade dispute. He said European leaders should stop being “complicit” and act collectively. He compared Europe’s approach to what he said he had seen in the United States, arguing that politicians privately criticise Mr Trump while publicly avoiding confrontation.
His intervention came as Mr Trump widened his criticism of close partners. On Tuesday, Reuters reported Mr Trump attacking Britain’s decision to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, calling it “total weakness” and “great stupidity”. The deal is expected to preserve long-term access to Diego Garcia through a lease arrangement, but Mr Trump argued the decision endangered a strategically important base used by the US and UK.
The Chagos dispute has become part of a broader set of pressures on Downing Street as it tries to manage relations with Washington while maintaining cooperation with European partners. The UK government has argued that the agreement with Mauritius reduces legal uncertainty around the base, a point noted in Reuters’ report.
Greenland’s strategic value has increased as Arctic sea routes become more navigable and competition intensifies over critical minerals, surveillance and military basing. For Denmark, the row raises questions about deterrence and the credibility of allied commitments in the High North; for the EU, it sharpens debate about economic leverage and security autonomy.
Mr Newsom said Europe had delayed a necessary conversation about how to respond to Mr Trump and was now “paying the price”. He said leaders “should decide for themselves what to do”, but argued they could not continue with what he portrayed as a pattern of accommodation.
Whether Europe chooses de-escalation, retaliation, or a mix of both will be tested quickly if the US follows through on the February tariff deadline. For now, leaders arriving in Davos face an immediate question: how to defend sovereignty and economic interests without triggering a wider rupture in the alliance that underpins European security.
