, Columnist
Europe Can’t Afford a Throwdown Over Greenland
Europe’s principled stance over Greenland will stumble over the hard reality of US power.
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images EuropeAs a US citizen living abroad, I sympathize with European outrage over Donald Trump’s naked attempt to bully Denmark, a particularly loyal NATO ally, into handing over Greenland. In fact, if he stays on this path I’d encourage Europeans to boycott American imports, social-media platforms, and maybe even the World Cup.
But as some leaders call for using the European Union’s so-called bazooka of counter measures to launch a full-blown trade war with the US, I’d suggest they game out the consequences before pulling the trigger. That’s true no matter how principled, justified and cathartic such a collective Love Actually moment would be.