Trump Backs Down – and Everyone Pretends Something Happened

Donald Trump backed down on Wednesday from his tariff threat against Denmark over Greenland. He calls it a framework agreement. He is now selling it as a breakthrough. In reality, it is an admission that his strategy did not work. The announcement came via Truth Social: Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had agreed on the “framework of a future deal” on Greenland and the Arctic. The punitive tariffs threatened for February 1 are off the table. Shortly before that, Trump had declared in Davos that he did not want to take Greenland by military force. Markets calmed immediately. And that was exactly the point.

What is being presented here as a negotiating success is, in truth, a retreat. Trump had threatened Denmark and the EU with massive tariffs if Copenhagen did not negotiate over Greenland’s future. The response was clear: Denmark refused, Greenland made clear that it is not negotiable, and even within the Republican Party criticism grew. Representative Thomas Massie mocked on X: “Just tell this administration the Epstein files are in Greenland. Then they will immediately lose all interest.” Democrat Ted Lieu called the threat “stupid” and asked how dumb it was to punish one’s own people with tariffs because one was not getting anywhere on Greenland. Trump knows this pattern. In April, he had already announced sweeping punitive tariffs against numerous countries. Financial markets wobbled, and he backed down. When accused of caving, he reacted irritably: that was not weakness, but negotiating tactics. Now the same game again, only this time the intent was absurd from the outset. Buying or forcing Greenland was never a realistic option, but a distraction from problems at home.

Mark Rutte has no role as a mediator in this story. He has no mandate to speak on territories or questions of sovereignty. NATO coordinates defense, not land acquisition. Whatever was discussed at the meeting, Denmark and Greenland have committed to nothing. Their position is unchanged. Greenland belongs to Denmark, and Greenlanders decide their own future. That was the case before, and it remains so afterward. Trump talks about a “Golden Dome,” a missile defense system meant to protect the United States. Further talks would follow, details would come later. This is the usual tactic: big announcement, vague promises, nothing concrete. The tariff threat was never more than a pressure tool that could not be used without hurting the domestic economy. So it is withdrawn and sold as a success.

The German and partly European media landscape nevertheless goes into overdrive. Every statement is hyped into a headline, every threat declared a crisis. Yet the pattern has long been familiar: Trump threatens, markets react, he withdraws the threat, everyone calms down. Until the next time, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. Simply boring once you know it. What remains is the realization that this kind of politics is above all one thing: loud. That is its purpose, retreat when Trump realizes it does not work after all. Next time.