WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump arrives in Switzerland on Wednesday morning with Europe on edge and the NATO alliance in crisis over his aggressive push to wrest control of Greenland.
At the annual World Economic Forum in the resort town of Davos, Switzerland, Trump will hold a series of meetings with European leaders rattled by his insistence that Denmark cede its island territory to the U.S., willingly or not.
“I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote Trump in a private text message that Trump posted online.
Trump has recently vowed to hit Denmark and seven other European nations with 10% tariffs next month unless they cut a deal giving up Greenland. Were they to refuse, Trump hasn’t ruled out the possibility of military action to annex Greenland, which he says America needs for its protection and to deprive China and Russia of a foothold in the Arctic.
How far is he willing to go to make Greenland part of the U.S.? Trump was asked Tuesday at a White House news conference.
“You’ll find out,” he said.
Trump’s trip will put him face-to-face with longtime allies who’ve been part of a post-World War II, U.S.-led order that he has upended in his return to power. He has also eyed Canada as a potential 51st state and left European nations to wonder whether he can be counted on to thwart Russia’s attempt to conquer its democratic neighbor Ukraine.
Scenarios that in years past would have sounded unfathomable are now playing out regularly on the world stage. On his social media site, Trump posted an image of himself planting an American flag on frozen tundra next to a sign that reads: “Greenland, US Territory, Est. 2026.” Standing behind him are Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Greenland’s prime minister warned Tuesday that the prospect of a U.S. invasion can’t be ruled out. Canada, a country that Trump also wants to absorb, has reportedly drawn up plans to respond to a potential U.S. attack.
In the face of Trump’s latest tariff threat, European leaders are weighing retaliatory measures against the U.S. amounting to $100 billion.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Monday in a speech in Davos that the economic standoff risks plunging the West into a “dangerous downward spiral” that only aids its adversaries.
Trump is due to give a speech at the forum at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, followed by various sit-downs with his counterparts.
His travel was delayed when Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Tuesday night after the crew identified “a minor electrical issue” after takeoff, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Trump then departed on a new, smaller aircraft.
Macron invited him to travel to Paris on Thursday and meet him for dinner, but Trump said he won’t go. At the news conference, he described Macron as a lame duck president who is “a nice guy” and a “friend of mine” but someone who is “not going to be there very much longer.”
Priding himself on his negotiating skills, Trump voiced optimism Tuesday that he would strike an agreement with his European counterparts in Davos.
“We have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland,” he said at the news conference.
He added, “I think things are going to work out pretty well.”
A diplomat in Trump’s first term said Trump has strong reasons for wanting to acquire Greenland but hasn’t articulated them cogently.
Gordon Sondland, who was ambassador to the European Union in Trump’s first term, said in an interview that the U.S. needs Greenland to house military defense systems and to obtain rare-earth minerals that will become more accessible as temperatures rise. Furthermore, Trump wants to “solidly box out Russia and China or any other adversary” from encroaching on the territory, he said.
“He’s very rough around the edges,” said Sondland, a witness in Trump’s first impeachment trial during the first term. “He’s not explaining this well to the American people. But I think the goals are laudable.”
As for the Europeans, “there’s a lot of crocodile tears in Europe every time Trump opens his mouth. They feign insult; they feign offense. That’s part of their entire shtick, if you will.”
“They’ll go to Davos and go to Trump’s hotel suite and close the doors and they’ll look Trump in the eye and say, ‘What do you really want, Donald?’ Let’s cut the B.S.,” he added. “That’s how it works.”
Ahead of the trip, Trump feels “emboldened” by the U.S. military operation that ousted Venezuela’s repressive leader, Nicolás Maduro, a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Trump also is encouraged by the preliminary steps toward creating what he calls a “Board of Peace” to resolve various global conflicts, the official added.
He is scheduled to attend a signing ceremony involving the board in Davos on Thursday, the day he returns home. Exactly which nations will sign up is unclear. Members need to pony up $1 billion for the privilege of permanent inclusion, according to the charter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other authoritarian leaders have been invited to join. At least one democratic leader is saying no: A source close to Macron said he “does not intend to give a favorable response” to the invitation, preferring the United Nations as the vehicle for resolving disputes.
Asked directly at his news conference Tuesday whether his “Board of Peace” was meant to replace the U.N., Trump said that while the international body “hasn’t been very helpful … I believe you’ve got to let the U.N. continue, because the potential is great.”
A twist in settling the Greenland uproar turns out to be the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian committee that gives out the annual award passed over Trump last year, in favor of María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader.
In a text message to Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump linked the Nobel snub to Greenland’s future.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
On the eve of Trump’s arrival, local residents prepared a frosty reception.
They carried 450 torches up a mountain overlooking the conference site. The lights spelled out “No Kings” — the name of a series of anti-Trump protests last year.
