What was billed as a carefully choreographed show of strength quickly turned into a familiar White House scramble, as President Donald Trump and his aides lurched from one awkward moment to the next, struggling to project control as their plans quietly fell apart.
Inside the administration, the response was immediate and messy. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and senior officials rushed to spin setbacks as momentum, issuing confident claims that only seemed to underline how little was actually going according to plan — setting the stage for a series of embarrassments the White House could no longer contain.
Part of Trump’s plan at the meeting in the Alpine resort town of Davos in Switzerland was to recruit members to his new Board of Peace which he claims will ostensibly oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after Israel spent years destroying the Palestinian territory on the Mediterranean.
But not one single major European ally joined the board for the required $1 billion fee or attended Trump’s signing ceremony Thursday, Jan. 22.
The White House, sensing the recruitment effort might be a bust, scrambled to try to save face Wednesday, Jan. 21, with Trump attempting to spin his unpopularity by publicly disinviting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Carney ruffled Trump’s feathers in a speech at the Davos meeting Tuesday Jan. 20, where he never mentioned Trump by name, but seemed to be directing a scathing message directly at the U.S. president.
“The old order is not coming back,” Carney stated then urged “middle powers” to unite.
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He said the world is “in the midst of a rupture, not a transition” and then made a statement that seemed directly aimed at Trump.
A furious Trump then disinvited Carney from joining his Board of Peace, which no other major European ally has joined.
“Dear Prime Minister Carney: Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time,” a petty Trump wrote in a short message Wednesday night, Jan. 21.
Social media had a field day mocking Trump’s deflated ego.
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“And only 20 countries showed up in Davos at this Board creation. Take a look at who is there and who is not there. Speaks volumes. And this Canadian is relieved – this is a scam and we want no part of it,” Threads user Macdee Ski declared.
Another viewer mocked, “Trump: hey Mark, do you want to come to my birthday party. Mark Carney: no thank you. Trump stamps feet: you’re not invited anyway!!!”
“The demon child temper tantrums continues,” another wrote.
The snub might not have been related to Trump’s threats to take control of Greenland as much as the President also inviting Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who has been waging a war against his neighbor Ukraine for years, and strongman Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus and a close friend of Putin, according to the Daily Beast.
Trump tried to put on a good face Thursday morning, Jan. 22, at his signing ceremony, where less than 20 countries showed up. Those that did included Middle Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Qatar and South American countries such as Paraguay and Argentina, the Daily Beast reported.
“Every one of them’s a friend of mine,” the President boasted at the ceremony. “In this group I like every single one of them, can you believe it? Usually, I have about two or three that I can’t stand.”
“They’re great people,” Trump proclaimed, “They’re great leaders.”
He then bragged that the new board, which most countries have expressed skepticism over as an attempt to replace the United Nation, would bring “glorious peace” to the Middle East.
“For that region and for the whole region of the world, because I’m calling the world a region,” he declared nonsensically, repeating that “the world is a region,” which it obviously is not.
Leavitt tried to clean up Trump’s mess and embarrassment by announcing Belgium had in fact joined the Board. Not!
In a post on X, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot denied it. “Belgium has NOT joined the Charter of the Board of Peace. This announcement is incorrect.”
“SMFH…..if incompetence were currency, this admistration have it in spades, for which they can pay the national debt down 10 times over,” fumed one viewer.
“Lying Leavitt caught again! It’s an everyday thing with all of them. They can’t go one fucking day without being called out on their bullshit!” wrote one critic on X.
Another added, “So embarrassing for us, she literally just lies about everything.”
