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https://www.google.com/search?q=Trumps+Greenland+threats+push+Europe+toward+divorcing+America+With+NATO+thrown+into+question+some+officials+see+the+coalition+of+the+willing+as+the+basis+for+a+new+alliance+without+the+U.S.+LISTEN+COPY+LINK+The+Greenlandic+flag+flies+over+a+building+as+the+HDMS+Vaedderen+of+the+Danish+Navy+patrols+behind+on+Jan.+18+2026+in+Nuuk+Greenland.++Sean+GallupGetty+Images+ANALYSIS+JANUARY+19+2026+400+AM+CET+BY+TIM+ROSS+LONDON++As+with+many+failing+relationships+its+been+a+story+of+arguments+unspoken+tensions+and+trying+to+keep+up+appearances+in+public+since+Donald+Trump+reentered+the+White+House+a+year+ago.+But+for+many+European+governments+including+Americas+longest-standing+and+most+loyal+allies+Trumps+threat+of+punitive+tariffs+against+anyone+who+tries+to+stop+him+taking+Greenland+was+the+final+straw.+Divorce+they+believe+is+now+inevitable.+In+private+dismayed+European+officials+describe+Trumps+rush+to+annex+the+sovereign+Danish+territory+as+crazy+and+mad+asking+if+he+is+caught+up+in+his+warrior+mode+after+his+Venezuela+adventure++and+saying+he+deserves+Europes+toughest+retaliation+for+what+many+see+as+a+clear+and+unprovoked+attack+against+allies+on+the+other+side+of+the+Atlantic.+Advertisement+Advertisement+I+think+it+is+perceived+as+one+step+too+far+said+one+European+diplomat+who+like+others+was+granted+anonymity+to+speak+candidly.+Europe+has+been+criticized+for+being+weak+against+Trump.+There+is+some+truth+in+that+but+there+are+red+lines.+Senior+European+officials+increasingly+believe+its+time+to+face+the+truth+that+Trumps+America+is+no+longer+a+reliable+trade+partner+still+less+a+dependable+security+ally+and+urgently+look+to+the+future.+There+is+a+shift+in+U.S.+policy+and+in+many+ways+it+is+permanent+according+to+a+senior+official+with+a+European+government.+Waiting+it+out+is+not+a+solution.+What+needs+to+be+done+is+an+orderly+and+coordinated+movement+to+a+new+reality.+That+coordination+has+already+begun+as+has+the+big+conversation+about+what+comes+next.+Barring+a+radical+shift+in+the+approach+of+the+United+States+this+process+seems+likely+to+end+in+a+radical+reshaping+of+the+West+that+would+upend+the+global+balance+of+power.+The+implications+range+from+transatlantic+economic+damage+as+trade+tensions+rise+to+security+risks+as+Europe+attempts+to+defend+itself+without+American+help+before+it+is+fully+ready+to+do+so.+There+would+likely+be+costs+to+the+United+States+as+well+such+as+in+its+ability+to+project+hard+power+into+Africa+and+the+Middle+East+without+access+to+the+network+of+bases+airstrips+and+logistical+support+that+Europe+currently+provides.+A+post-U.S.+future+Alongside+all+the+talk+of+retaliation+by+targeting+U.S.+trade+diplomats+and+government+officials+in+national+capitals+are+also+considering+what+a+long-term+split+from+Washington+might+bring.+Advertisement+Advertisement+For+most+the+prospect+is+a+painful+one+ending+80+years+of+peaceful+cooperation+mutual+support+and+profitable+trade+and+dealing+a+death+blow+to+NATO+in+its+current+form.+Plenty+of+governments+want+to+salvage+what+they+can+while+Italys+hard+right+leader+Giorgia+Meloni+is+trying+to+rebuild+relations.+But+for+some+government+officials+a+post-U.S.+future+for+Western+allies+isnt+hard+to+imagine.+For+starters+European+states+including+those+not+in+the+EU+like+Britain+and+Norway+have+spent+much+of+Trumps+second+term+working+in+an+increasingly+effective+group+that+already+operates+without+America+the+so-called+coalition+of+the+willing+to+support+Ukraine.+U.S.+President+Donald+Trump+leads+Ukraines+President+Volodymyr+Zelenskyy+and+European+leaders+at+the+White+House+on+Aug.+18+2025.+States+like+Britain+and+Norway+which+are+not+in+the+EU+have+been+part+of+the+coalition+of+the+willing+in+support+of+Ukraine.++Aaron+SchwartzEPA+National+security+advisers+from+35+governments+are+in+regular+contact+meeting+frequently+online+and+in+person+as+well+as+interacting+via+less+formal+text+messaging.+They+are+accustomed+to+seeking+multilateral+solutions+in+a+world+where+Trump+is+a+big+part+of+the+problem.+Levels+of+trust+in+these+circles+are+generally+high+according+to+people+familiar+with+the+way+the+group+operates.+Nor+is+it+just+at+the+level+of+officials+National+leaders+are+themselves+rolling+up+their+sleeves+and+working+in+intimate+new+groupings.+Leaders+including+the+U.K.s+Keir+Starmer+Frances+Emmanuel+Macron+and+Germanys+Friedrich+Merz+as+well+as+European+Commission+President+Ursula+von+der+Leyen+Alexander+Stubb+of+Finland+and+Meloni+of+Italy+regularly+text+with+each+other++often+in+the+same+group+chat.+Advertisement+Advertisement+Texting+leaders+Over+the+past+year+they+have+developed+a+well-drilled+routine+of+exchanging+messages+whenever+Trump+does+something+wild+and+potentially+damaging.+When+things+start+moving+quickly+its+hard+to+do+the+coordination+and+this+group+chat+is+really+effective+said+one+person+familiar+with+the+arrangement.+It+tells+you+a+lot+about+the+personal+relationships+and+how+they+matter.+The+info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