This time, Trump’s threats to Europe look deadly serious

Never before has a Truth Social post generated such anger and fear across the European continent. The message: Europe’s largest economies will have to pay an additional 10pc tariff, rising to 25pc in June, until Greenland is part of the United States. On Monday, the author, Donald Trump, reiterated the threat and vowed that he was 100pc committed to executing it if Washington’s European allies didn’t get with the programme.

The Europeans, having suddenly discovered that the result of their attempts to mollify and appease Trump since his return to the White House amounted to little, expressed their indignation, albeit diplomatically. French President Emmanuel Macron blasted Trump’s tariff threats as “unacceptable”.

European Council president António Costa scheduled an emergency meeting for this week, where retaliatory options (including tariffs on €93 billion of American goods destined for the EU) will be discussed. Even Britain’s Keir Starmer, who has treated Trump with velvet gloves, felt the urge to rebuke Trump’s tariff threats.

There’s nothing new about Trump wanting to acquire Greenland. He flirted with it during his first term. Back then, the aim was to explore ways to purchase the island from Denmark. The discussions went nowhere; the Danes stated that under no circumstances was Greenland going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.