Newsom likens Trump to a T. rex, remarking, 'You either mate with him, or he devours you'

US politicians and European leaders have delivered unusually blunt warnings against President Donald Trump’s threats over Greenland and global trade, as the World Economic Forum in Davos turned into a forum of open confrontation rather than quiet diplomacy.

The sharpest language came from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who accused European leaders of being "played for fools" by Trump and urged them to abandon what he described as performative diplomacy in the face of coercion.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the forum, Newsom said Europe could no longer afford to engage Trump as if he respected established rules.

"This is diplomacy with Donald Trump?" he asked.

"He’s a T-Rex. You mate with him, or he devours you. One or the other."

In remarks laced with profanity, Newsom said he was exasperated by what he called European complicity.

"I can’t take this complicity. People rolling over," he said.

"I should’ve brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders. I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage. From an American perspective, it’s embarrassing."

Newsom warned that Trump’s approach was not strategic but personal.

"The goal is the world in his image. He’s a narcissist," he said, adding that Trump’s objectives shift according to his immediate interests rather than any coherent foreign policy.

European warnings of a 'colonial turn'

Newsom’s remarks echoed, but also eclipsed in tone, the concerns raised by several European leaders, who warned that Trump’s push to seize Greenland and impose punitive tariffs risked unravelling decades of cooperation.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned of what he described as a return to imperial logic.

"This is a shift towards a world without rules," Macron said, cautioning against "imperial ambitions resurfacing" and a "new colonial approach" that would undermine international law.

Macron also took direct aim at Washington’s trade posture, criticising what he described as US efforts to weaken Europe through tariffs and asymmetric agreements.

Such policies, he said, were "fundamentally unacceptable, especially when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck a similar note, warning that escalating tensions would only benefit Western adversaries.

"Plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid those we are committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape," she said.

Von der Leyen described proposed additional tariffs as "a mistake, especially between long-standing allies," stressing that a trade deal agreed between the EU and the US last July should be honoured.

"In politics, as in business, a deal is a deal," she said.

Greenland and the fracture of Atlantic norms

The unusually direct language reflected growing alarm over Trump’s repeated threats to punish countries that oppose his effort to take control of Greenland, including by imposing new tariffs.

Trump has refused to rule out using force to acquire the autonomous Danish territory, framing it as a matter of US national security.

At Davos, some leaders warned that the Greenland dispute risks becoming a symbol of a broader breakdown in Atlantic norms, with coercion replacing consensus.

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney warned that middle powers were especially vulnerable in a world dominated by great-power rivalry.

"If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu," he said, urging closer cooperation among countries caught between Washington, Moscow and Beijing.

Trump strikes a defiant note

Trump has shown little sign of retreat.

Speaking on Tuesday, he defended his approach and dismissed concerns about Western unity.

His Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to calm tensions, telling attendees to "take a deep breath" and insisting that US-European relations "have never been closer."

But for critics like Newsom, such reassurances ring hollow.

His remarks captured a growing unease not just about Trump’s Greenland ambitions, but about a style of leadership that, in his words, treats diplomacy as domination.

As Davos continues, the sharp exchanges suggest that Trump’s return to the global stage is forcing allies and rivals alike to confront an uncomfortable question: whether the rules-based order can survive a world in which power is asserted openly — and sometimes profanely — rather than negotiated.