DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he won’t use military force to acquire Greenland, but sent an unmistakable warning to European leaders that they need to relent and cede the territory to the U.S. for what he described as global security reasons.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump demanded “immediate negotiations” with European counterparts to decide the fate of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory that is part of Denmark.
“You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember,” the president said.
Ahead of his trip. Trump had replied cryptically when asked how far he would go in his bid to control Greenland. Asked by NBC News on Monday if he would use force, Trump said, “No comment.”
At a news conference Tuesday, he said, “You’ll find out.”
But he appeared to rule out the prospect of military action in his speech on Wednesday, saying that the U.S. would be “unstoppable” if he applied military force, but “I won’t do that.”
“So, we want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Trump said. “We’ve never asked for anything else.”
The financial markets reacted positively to Trump’s call for negotiations as opposed to combat. The S&P 500 recovered from steep losses Tuesday and had risen as of mid-day.
Trump’s speech came at a fraught moment when traditional U.S. allies have cautioned that the rules-based international order is fraying as America threatens the sovereignty of smaller nations. The day before at Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country Trump has also targeted, said that the geopolitical landscape is undergoing not a “transition,” but a “rupture.”
Trump made no apologies for his aggressive push to absorb Greenland, saying the U.S. needs the territory for the “Golden Dome” missile defense system and to deprive adversaries of a foothold in America’s own hemisphere.
Though the U.S. already has a military base on Greenland — and European allies said they’re open to an expanded American presence — Trump said that owning the island would provide more incentive for America to properly defend it. A lease agreement won’t suffice, said Trump, a former real estate magnate.
Trump told the audience that “psychologically, who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or a lease, which is a large piece of ice in the middle of the ocean, where if there is a war, much of the action will take place on that piece of ice. Think of it. Those missiles will be flying right over the center of that piece of ice.”
European leaders have bristled over Trump’s efforts to procure Greenland. In his quest for the territory, he has threatened to slap 10% tariffs on eight European countries starting Feb. 1 unless they meet his demand.
“I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote Trump in a private text message that the U.S. president posted online earlier this week.
In his speech, Trump laid out his rationale. NATO countries are obliged to defend themselves, and the U.S. is the only allied nation with the strength and resources to protect Greenland from hostile incursions, he said.
“It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it and make it so that it’s good for Europe and safe for Europe and good for us,” Trump said.
He pointed to history. During World War II, Germany overran Denmark, which proved unable to defend itself or Greenland, he said. U.S. forces stepped in and kept the territory out of Hitler’s hands. Now, America wants Greenland back. Denmark’s defiance ignores the sacrifices American soldiers made, he suggested.
“Without us, right now, you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese, perhaps. After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it, but we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now?” Trump said.
The diplomats, business leaders, and politicians in the audience listened largely in silence, according to a press pool report. There was some light laughter in the room, along with “uncomfortable looks” on the part of some of the attendees.
Upon the president’s arrival in Davos after an overnight flight from Washington, someone had written, “Trump Go Home” in the snow near his landing site.
Speaking for more than an hour, Trump at times sounded as if he were delivering a boilerplate campaign address to a home audience. He touted his work over the past year, mentioning that gas prices have dropped and many government “bureaucrats” have been fired, suggesting they’re now working better-paying jobs in the private sector.
He swiped at his predecessor, calling him “Sleepy Joe Biden,” and said that people would be prosecuted over the 2020 election that made Biden president. Trump contends the election was “rigged,” though there is no evidence of wrongdoing on a scale that would have reversed the outcome.
Before he was finished, he bashed windmills, boasted of his “landslide” election victory in 2024 and denigrated the nation of Somalia as well as the Somali-born congresswoman from Minnesota, Democrat Ilhan Omar. On at least four occasions, he mistakenly confused Greenland with “Iceland.”
Some of his most pointed comments were directed at traditional American allies. He questioned whether NATO would come to America’s aid in the event of a war.
“The problem with NATO is we’ll be there for them 100%, but I’m not sure they’d be there for us,” he said.
(After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on Washington and New York, NATO invoked Article V for the first time in its history — a clause stating that the attack on one member was an attack on all).
Trump also had harsh words for Carney. He said that Canada “gets a lot of freebies from us,” but is not “grateful.”
“I watched your prime minister yesterday,” Trump said, in reference to Carney. “He wasn’t so grateful.”
Before Trump spoke, NBC News interviewed one of Trump’s favorite foils: California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, who is attending the conference. Trump name-checked Newsom during his speech, calling him a “good guy” who “I used to get along so great with.”
Newsom, a potential presidential candidate in 2028, said of Trump’s tenure: “It’s an extraordinary wrecking ball presidency and administration. And people understand it here. There’s a deep understanding in the United States, the impacts are going to be outsized, the next five, 10, 15 years.”
