‘When Leaders Run Roughshod...’: After Trump’s Davos Speech, A Veiled Message From UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

In a post on X, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that leaders who manipulate international law, picking and choosing which rules to follow, undermine the global order.

Minutes after United States President Donald Trump ended his speech at the Davos summit, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres posted a veiled message on X, reminding the world leaders of the UN Charter. In a post on X, Guterres said that leaders who manipulate international law, picking and choosing which rules to follow, undermine the global order.

“The United Nations Charter is the foundation of international relations, the bedrock of peace, sustainable development & human rights. When leaders run roughshod over international law, picking & choosing which rules to follow – they are undermining global order & setting a perilous precedent,” said Guterres.

The UN Secretary General further said that when a handful of individuals can bend global narratives, sway elections, or dictate the terms of public debate, the world is facing inequality and the corruption of institutions.

“The Charter is a compact which binds us all. All countries must adhere to it, fully & faithfully,” he said.

Notably, the remark came after Trump, from the dais of World Economic Forum in Davos, staked claim over Greenland, warned NATO and tried to heckle Canada. Trump said the United States should reopen negotiations with Denmark to acquire Greenland, arguing that the vast Arctic territory is a “core national security interest” and can only be protected by Washington amid rising global military threats. 

“No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland, other than the United States,” Trump said, asserting that the island occupies a critical strategic position “right smack in the middle” between the US, Russia, and China.

Trump on Wednesday slammed America’s traditional allies, European leaders, and NATO member countries, for what he described as relying disproportionately on US military power and financial support while failing to adequately defend their own security interests, even as Washington bears the brunt of the Ukraine war.

“The United States is treated very unfairly by NATO,” Trump told a gathering of European and global leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Switzerland's Davos, arguing that America has long paid far more than its allies for Europe’s defence. “We give so much and we get so little in return,” he said.

Trump said NATO would not exist in its current form without his leadership. “You wouldn’t have NATO if I didn’t get involved,” he said, claiming he forced alliance members to dramatically increase defence spending after years of non-compliance.

He said most NATO countries had failed to meet even the earlier requirement to spend two per cent of GDP on defence. “They didn’t pay the two, and now they’re paying the five,” Trump said, asserting that he pushed allies to commit to defence spending levels that were previously considered impossible.

The US President questioned whether European allies would respond if the United States were attacked. “We’ll be there for them 100 per cent,” he said. “I’m not sure that they’d be there for us.”