Davos: A sense of crisis gripped the World Economic Forum on Tuesday as global leaders issued stark warnings and California Gov. Gavin Newsom unleashed a profanity-laced critique of the international response to President Donald Trump’s efforts to acquire Greenland.

The gathering in the Swiss Alps has been dominated by the burgeoning geopolitical rift caused by Trump’s push for the Arctic territory and his threats of punitive trade tariffs against those who oppose the move.

The day’s most visceral remarks came from Newsom, who, speaking in the forum's entrance hall, accused European counterparts of cowardice.

"I can't take this complicity. People rolling over. I should've brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders," the prominent Democrat said, calling the display of diplomacy "embarrassing" from an American perspective.

"Diplomacy with Donald Trump? He's a T-Rex. You mate with him, or he devours you. One or the other ... Wake up! Where the hell has everybody been? Stop with this (expletive) diplomacy of sort of niceties, and somehow we're all going to figure it out, saying one thing privately and another publicly. Have some spine, some goddamn (expletive)."

French President Emmanuel Macron, appearing in aviator sunglasses due to an eye infection, offered a more formal but equally sharp rebuke. He opened his special address with the dry observation: "It's a time of peace, stability and predictability."

Macron warned that the current climate signals a "shift towards a world without rules," where "imperial ambitions are resurfacing." He specifically denounced what he described as a U.S. strategy to "weaken and subordinate Europe" through trade agreements and "fundamentally unacceptable" tariffs used as leverage against territorial sovereignty.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed the call for a unified front among "middle powers" to avoid being marginalised by great-power rivalry.

"Great powers can afford, for now, to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, and the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not," Carney said. He urged mid-tier nations to form a "dense web of connections," warning that "if we're not at the table, we're on the menu." He emphasised Canada's firm support for Danish and Greenlandic sovereignty.

As President Trump is not scheduled to arrive until Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attempted to minimise the friction.

"I think our relations have never been closer," Bessent said, urging the forum to "calm down the hysteria" and "take a deep breath." He insisted that while the U.S. remains a committed NATO partner, that partnership "does not mean that we cannot have disagreements on the future of Greenland."

However, the sentiment on the ground remained defiant. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever suggested the alliance reached a breaking point. "Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else. If you back down now, you're going to lose your dignity," he said, adding that it is now up to Trump to decide "if he wants to be a monster, yes or no."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reminded the U.S. that "a deal is a deal," citing the trade agreement reached last July. She cautioned that a "downward spiral" in relations would only benefit common adversaries. "If this change is permanent, then Europe must change permanently too. It is time to seize this opportunity and build a new independent Europe," she said.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk underscored the mood on social media, writing on X that "appeasement is always a sign of weakness" and that "European assertiveness and self-confidence have become the need of the moment."

With inputs from AP