Washington. President Donald Trump gives. And he takes away.

Offended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s increasingly assertive posture toward the United States, Trump revoked an invitation for Canada to join his Board of Peace. Many Western allies are wary of the organization, chaired by Trump, which was initially formed to help maintain the ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas but has since expanded into something skeptics fear could rival the United Nations.

Appearing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump spoke of imposing tariffs on Switzerland — which he later reduced — after saying the country’s leader “rubbed me the wrong way” during a phone call. Before shelving sweeping tariffs on several European countries, Trump pressed Denmark to “say yes” to a US push to control Greenland.

“And we will be very appreciative,” Trump said. “Or you can say no and we will remember,” remarks that allies say imperil the NATO alliance.

Over decades in public life, Trump has never been known for diplomatic niceties. But even by his standards, the tumult of the past week stood out. It crystallized his determination to dismantle the rules-based international order that has guided US foreign policy — and, by extension, much of the Western world — since World War II.

Trump and his supporters dismiss that system as inefficient, overly focused on compromise, and unresponsive to voters struggling with rapid economic change. In its place, Trump is advancing a model that is poorly defined and potentially far less stable, critics say — one driven by the impulses of a single, often mercurial leader who openly demonstrates that personal flattery or animus can shape major policy decisions.

Returning to the United States from Davos, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said the phrase she heard “over and over” from foreign leaders was that “we are entering this new world order.”

“It may be you just had a bad telephone call with the president and now you’re going to have tariffs directed at you,” Murkowski told reporters. “This lack of stability and reliability is causing what were traditionally reliable trade partners to say to other countries, ‘Hey, maybe you and I should talk, because I’m not sure what’s going on with the United States.’”

A Trump-centric Approach to Power

Trump’s governing style is hardly surprising for a president who accepted the Republican nomination in 2016 by declaring, “I alone can fix it.” Now in his second term and operating with far greater confidence than during his first, Trump has delighted supporters with a blunt, winner-take-all approach to power.

Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser, recently told The Atlantic that the president is pursuing a “maximalist strategy” that should continue “until you meet resistance.”

“And we haven’t met any resistance,” Bannon said.

That may be true in Washington, where a Republican-controlled Congress has done little to constrain Trump’s foreign policy instincts. But beyond the US capital, leaders who have spent years trying to accommodate Trump are increasingly signaling their unease — and, in some cases, their opposition.

Carney is emerging as a prominent voice urging countries to band together and counter US pressure. Speaking in Davos ahead of Trump, Carney warned that middle powers face stark choices.

“If you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” he said.

“In a world of great-power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: to compete with each other for favor or to combine to create a third path with impact,” Carney added. “We should not allow the rise of hard powers to blind us to the fact that legitimacy, integrity and rules still matter — if we choose to wield them together.”

Trump responded sharply, threatening Canada in Davos before withdrawing the Board of Peace invitation.

“Canada lives because of the United States,” Trump said. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

Allies Push Back

Carney was undeterred. Speaking later before a cabinet retreat in Quebec City, he described Canada as “an example to a world at sea” and argued that democratic nations must chart a different course.

“We can show that another way is possible,” he said. “That the arc of history is not destined to bend toward authoritarianism and exclusion.”

In Britain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer rebuked Trump on Friday for “insulting and frankly appalling” remarks casting doubt on whether NATO allies would come to the United States’ defense. Trump appeared to ignore that the only time NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause has been invoked was after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

“They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” Trump told Fox Business Network. “They stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”

Starmer pointed to the 457 British service members who were killed and those left with lifelong injuries.

“I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice they made,” he said.

Denmark — which Trump has derided as “ungrateful” for US protection during World War II — suffered the highest per-capita death toll among coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Trump’s approach has fueled concern that he is inflicting long-term damage on America’s standing and accelerating a global realignment that could benefit China. Carney traveled to Beijing earlier this month to meet with President Xi Jinping.

“China’s leadership watched an American president fight with allies, insult world leaders and engage in bizarre antics,” said Jake Sullivan, former national security adviser to President Joe Biden. “They thought — this is nothing but good for us.”

The administration shows no sign of retreating. In a social media post referencing Canada’s ties with Beijing, Trump warned that China “will eat them up.” The Pentagon, meanwhile, released a defense strategy instructing allies to shoulder more responsibility for their own security.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, joined Murkowski in a bipartisan delegation to Denmark aimed at signaling unity amid Trump’s push for Greenland. He said Trump has demonstrated that he only backs down when confronted with toughness.

“Those who tried to accommodate him in good faith, like the EU, seemed to earn no respect,” Coons said. “That sends a clear message to the rest of the world.”

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