Hurtling into view, noisily and quickly, comes another twist in the rollercoaster that is diplomacy in the era of President Trump.
Splenetic social media posts, bold claims in front of the cameras and provocative and to some deeply offensive AI-generated images of an American-owned Greenland.
And now, so many of America’s allies allow themselves a deep breath and an expression of relief.
Just as so many of the furious rows begin on social media under this US president, this latest one has cooled considerably via social media too – with another post on his platform Truth Social.
Within the government here in the UK, there is a quiet pride that Britain made its contribution to the welter of diplomacy European neighbours and others have been doing in recent days.
I hear that the British diplomatic machine cranked up at every level: involving ministers, officials and embassies.
The prime minister insisted on what he saw as the merits of “calm discussion” – but had to judge how to calibrate his response, both publicly and privately.
At the core of this row, there was a fundamental public disagreement between Downing Street and the White House, something Sir Keir Starmer has sought to avoid where possible.
But for him the integrity of a state – with Greenland’s future being for Greenlanders and Denmark to decide – was a non-negotiable bottom line.
In the 48 hours or so since spelling that out explicitly, in front of the cameras, on Monday morning, risk hung in the air – could the carefully cultivated relationship with President Trump be uprooted before our eyes?
By Tuesday morning, it looked like the answer could be yes, with the president sounding off in capital letters about the government’s deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, an arrangement he had previously endorsed.
What might come next? Again Downing Street held its breath, before deciding to notch up its critique in the Commons on Wednesday.
The prime minister told MPs he would “not yield” over his support for Greenland, despite the threat of tariffs. His team knew this wasn’t without risk.
Now, almost as quickly as the row accelerated, President Trump has hit the brakes.
A deal has been done, the threat of tariffs and reality of tub thumping language has gone.
And yes, we have heard this album before.
The president makes a provocative and to many outrageous suggestion, reaction around the world scatters in multiple directions, the White House has seized the agenda.
The world, or at least the West, splutters, frets, contorts and argues – and a solution is arrived at, but not before so many are brutally reminded of America’s brute force, when led by a man happy to be brutish in his approach.
And America’s friends and foes, catching their breath, ponder what will prompt the next diplomatic grenade from the Oval Office.
