\u00a0Mr. Trump is a performer, not an orator, and the rambling monologues he delivers bear little resemblance to Pericles\u2019 tightly worded speeches. Still, even as the president repeatedly confused Greenland for Iceland, drifted into irrelevant anecdotes, and scattered inaccurate statistics, he owned the room and everyone in it. But entertaining isn\u2019t persuading, and Mr. Trump won few hearts and minds in Davos….<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The West is going through a period of deep and disruptive change, and the political establishments on both sides of the pond have been shaken to the core. More disruption is coming as the accelerating tech revolution transforms our economies and external challengers press ahead with their revisionist projects. Under the circumstances, changes within the Western alliances are unavoidable. But change doesn\u2019t have to mean dissolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte seems to grasp this. Mr. Trump emerged from a meeting with Mr. Rutte following the speech to post on Truth Social that they had found the basis for a long-term agreement over Greenland that met key White House demands. For now at least, the trans-Atlantic alliance has survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> Trump\u2019s speech was the hottest ticket at Davos. And thanks to Mark Rutte, the Western alliance just might survive. https:\/\/t.co\/OkcyFGqmzh<\/a><\/p>— Walter Russell Mead (@wrmead) January 21, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>