What it’s like to be in a room with Donald Trump in Davos

I was in the room when President Donald Trump entered, and it’s fair to say that he received a warm welcome from the crowd, certainly at the beginning. The audience stood up and applauded.

On top of that, the amount of people trying to get in was staggering and many people were turned away, even heads of state.

The security was incredible and even some of the most famous attendees were not allowed in or out of the hall.

Minutes into his speech, Trump remained calm and even expressed hope that Britain would “do great things.”

Some consider the day the US president laid down new global economic laws to be full of grandfatherly advice.

That’s a far cry from the mildly threatening tone of his social media posts claiming Greenland would belong to the United States.

But which one is the real Donald Trump? Has he heard how badly some of his rhetoric has failed?

As I entered, I was told that in a shocking incident last night, Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, told the audience that as far as the European economy is concerned, “you are dead.”

Someone is on strike. Is it possible to have one today? He seems to be trying to avoid this.

At first, I thought Trump was trying to be diplomatic, maybe hearing some of the big criticism being leveled at him and trying to sound moderate.

He spoke in kind terms about the Western allies most upset by his social media posts.

He even admitted that he probably shouldn’t be talking about the contentious issue of Greenland – which he has repeatedly vowed to take over.

But, almost as if he had no control over it, the speech seemed to take a dark turn.

First, he described the United States’ past role in helping Greenland, including being friendly to Denmark.

But he then insulted Europe’s largest economy, saying if it weren’t for the United States, everyone in the hall “would speak German.”

Then it came. He announced that he was seeking immediate negotiations with the United States to acquire Greenland.

A negotiated solution was reached, he said. No force required. But America wants “full ownership.”

“We want this land” to be able to build “the greatest golden dome ever built,” he said.

He also warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of his comments the day before, but stressed he would also use Greenland to defend Canada.

“I want a piece of ice…that’s a small request.”

It was incredible to see this said out loud.

Security is high in the Alps, the stakes are high and the atmosphere is tense as the future Sheriff of the World arrives, brandishing his new rules.

Reactions in the room were mixed.

The president’s charisma seemed to earn him polite applause. But when he went from rigging elections to getting annoyed at other leaders’ speeches in Davos, some were left in disbelief.

Although he promised not to invade Greenland, many were alarmed by his attempts to persuade Europe to hand over the territory.

Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, said Tuesday’s speech was “TACO,” referring to the “Trump is always timid” slogan used to mock the president.

He believes Trump backed down amid strong opposition from leaders Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney.

One key Republican senator, Thomas Tillis, said the president’s pursuit of Greenland, even through negotiated annexation, would not have support in Congress.

So while Trump has tried to de-escalate tensions, he has continued to criticize allies, including making personal attacks on leaders.

Although he promised not to invade Greenland, he still said that Greenland would become part of the new United States, and the world should thank him for it.

The presentation may finally be over, but we’ll be talking about it for a long time to come.