How not to lead

DAVOS, Switzerland — “You can say yes and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember.” That was President Donald Trump speaking at Davos, laying out Europe’s choices on Greenland. When I asked a senior European leader whether there was relief that Trump had stepped back from the threat of military action, he said yes. “But we’ve now seen a pattern in his dealings with us,” the leader said. “He treats us with contempt. And even if this crisis gets resolved, we will remember.”

Trump’s approach to leadership is primarily transactional. He begins by asking, “Who has more leverage?” If the answer is “me,” he pushes as hard and as publicly as he can, not simply to win but to dominate — extracting the maximum price. For him, diplomacy is the art of the squeeze.

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