This is nominally a political digest but so much has happened over the past 24 hours it’s a tough ask to politically digest it all.
Tuesday was another day of the upside down logic of Alice in Wonderland, except that when you went down the rabbit hole it was hard to make out which role Donald Trump was playing – Humpty Dumpty, or the Cheshire Cat, or the Queen of Hearts?
When he found out that French president Emmanuel Macron was not joining his Board of Peace overseeing Gaza, Trump retorted impetuously.
“Well nobody wants him because he’s gonna be out of office very soon ...
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“I’ll put a 200 per cent tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join.”
In other words: “Off with their heads!”
The US doubled down on its threats to seize Greenland. If it wasn’t Trump, it was the Treasury secretary Scott Bessent who was doing his bidding.
The response of European and other leaders has broadly divided into three camps: the belligerent, the meek, and “nothing to do with me” (Hungary and Slovakia).
Macron is definitely in the bolshie camp. In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said: “We cannot accept a world where the law of strongest holds sway.”
Europe prefers “respect over bullies”, he said.
The Governor of California Gavin Newsom, an outspoken critic of the US president, is also in Davos. He also used the modh díreach when asked about Trump’s threats over Greenland.
“This whole excursion in Greenland is absurd and people need to recognise what they’re up against and stand tall and firm, develop a backbone and speak with one unified voice. Punch him in the face,” he said.
It is notable that other European leaders have also hardened their stance in recent days, to express solidarity with Denmark and Greenland. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen pitched an “unflinching” response in her speech in Davos.
The prose may be tough but there is still a sense that there is a mismatch. Europe finds it more difficult to speak with one voice. The retaliatory tariffs affecting €93 billion of US goods seems like (and I use this term advisedly) small beer compared to the vast political power grab Trump is proposing.
Outside of Macron, no other leader has expressed enthusiasm for the anti-coercion instrument, the so-called “big bazooka” that could really hurt US finance, technology and entertainment companies (think Netflix) with huge business in Europe.
As Trump arrives in Davos, our lead story reports that last-minute diplomacy is being pursued, in the hope that there might be some kind of retreat.
Jack Power and Jack Horgan-Jones write: “Leaders of several European Union states are preparing to mount a diplomatic blitz over the next 48 hours to convince the US president to retract his threats to levy fresh trade tariffs on countries opposing his plans to ‘buy’ Greenland, a Danish territory.”
So where does the Irish Government stand on this?
It might be a little unfair to lump the Coalition into the meek camp among European governments. While there has been some hardening of the prose, especially from Tánaiste Simon Harris, most of it has been describing the grim situation rather than squaring up to Trump like Macron has.
“You’re not simply talking about a tariff, you’re talking about an entire breakdown in the relationship,” Harris said in Brussels. Earlier, he had spoken about dire consequences.
The comments of Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Harris and Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee have been cautious and none have taken a direct potshot at Trump or at the US, other than voicing their complete backing for Greenland and Denmark in this diplomatic war.
The rationale is obvious. We found out around “Liberation Day” last year exactly the dependency of Ireland on the US, and the truly gigantic scale of our exports there.
There was an interesting exchange in the Dáil yesterday between Richard Boyd Barrett and Martin.
“Are you going to stand up to the bully?” Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach. “You’re not seriously going to go to the White House with shamrock this year and celebrate our national day with them?”
Martin’s response was squarely tilted towards realpolitik: “We’ve always had a very strong relationship with the US, irrespective of who the president happens to be or who’s in power on the Hill at any given time. And that has underpinned a very significant economic relationship which puts bread on the table of Irish workers.
“It’s the reality, and it’s easy for me to make grand statements, and for you and everybody else but it doesn’t put bread on the table. We need cool heads. We need to be calm about this. We need to be firm on principle.”
We expect similar caution in terms of response when the Taoiseach arrives in Davos later today.
Ireland will support the collective measures of the EU but won’t lead on them. That means the retaliatory tariffs but beyond that? We report that sources say the Government is cool on the use of the “big bazooka”.
It hopes that diplomacy (and common sense) will prevail. Because the political nightmare for the Coalition will be if Trump follows through on his threat to seize Greenland.
Gráinne Seoige to tell committee of anger at deepfake images appearing online
Just before lunchtime today, broadcaster and former political candidate Gráinne Seoige will address the Joint Committee on Arts and Media chaired by Labour TD Alan Kelly.
She will outline how a deepfake non-consensual AI intimate image of her was widely shared online during her general election campaign in 2024.
In a statement on Tuesday night, she said: “I welcome the opportunity to speak directly to legislators about what is one of the most serious issues facing girls and women today – not just in Ireland, but across Europe.
“AI tools and social media platforms are being used to create and spread abusive imagery at a scale we have never seen before, and the law is simply not keeping pace.”
She added: “This is not about politics or election. I am speaking as a victim who is angry – angry about what happened to me and about what continues to happen to girls and women every day.”
Kelly said the production and sharing of AI-generated sexual images without consent have highlighted big gaps in our laws and in how online platforms respond.
Best reads
Pat Leahy reports on the comprehensive report of a group led by Professor Niamh Brennan into the Art Council’s botched IT project.
He writes: “The conclusions of the review into the controversy at the Arts Council lay much of the blame at the door of senior management, but there are also criticisms of the board and the Department of Arts and Culture, which funds and oversees the council.”
Michael McDowell asks how on earth did Americans elect Donald Trump as president? He contends that the worse Trump behaves the more room there may be for optimism. I’m not so sure about that.
Playbook
Micheál Martin flies to Davos in the afternoon. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke is already there. The big draw there today will be the arrival of Donald Trump in the afternoon. He is expected to meet a group of senior EU leaders for discussions on Greenland.
Martin will travel to Brussels on Thursday for a EU summit.
Dáil
09.00: Topical Issues
10.00: Private Members’ Business (Labour Party): Motion re Flexible Work and Commuter Delays
12.00: Leaders’ Questions
14.12: Statements on International Developments
16.37: Statements on Water
20.09: Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025 – Report and Final Stages
21.09: Deferred Divisions
21.39: Dáil adjourns
Seanad Éireann
12.15: Motion re Appointment of Chairperson of Standards in Public Office Commission
13.00: Motion re the Defence Forces
15.30: Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024 – Report and Final Stages
18.30: Credit Review Bill 2024 – Second Stage
20.00: Seanad adjourns
Committees
09.45. Transport Committee – issues facing the Taxi Industry
10.45: Health Committee – treatment by the health service of people with eating disorders
12:30: Enterprise and Tourism Committee – the Future of Irish Tourism
12.30: Media, Arts Committee – Gráinne Seoige
15.30: Finance, Public Expenditure – Regulatory oversight of Neo Banks in the context of their increased presence in the Irish Market
