In Davos, US President Donald Trump said he would not invade Greenland – at least for now.
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable,” Trump said. “But I won’t do that. Okay. Now everyone says, oh, good,” Trump said in his speech at Wednesday’s World Economic Forum.
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“That’s probably the biggest statement I made, because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” he added
As many expected, Greenland – and the widening transatlantic rift – dominated a forum meant to project unity, leaving Ukraine, despite a looming humanitarian catastrophe, largely in the background.
Trump’s Davos remarks touched on familiar themes: criticism of his predecessor, claims that conditions have improved under his leadership, and assertions that Europe owes the United States greater alignment – including, in his view, on Greenland.
Here’s a brief highlight of his statements, as reported by CNN.
“Want to see Europe go good”
After noting that Davos was hosting both friends and foes – mostly the former – Trump criticized Europe’s current trajectory, echoing similar critiques made by US Vice President JD Vance nearly a year earlier.
He blamed “increasing government spending, unchecked mass migration and endless foreign imports,” similar to arguments Vance made in Munich last year.
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“I love Europe, and I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction,” Trump said, adding that the continent was “not even recognizable.”
In a similar vein to his domestic rhetoric, Trump attributed Europe’s challenges to what he described as the “radical left” before pivoting to renewable energy – windmills, in particular.
“Here in Europe, we’ve seen the fate that the radical left tried to impose on America,” he said. “They killed the birds, they ruined your landscapes. Other than that, I think they’re fabulous, by the way.”
The “ungrateful” argument
Trump also criticized Denmark for refusing to sell Greenland, arguing that the country “owes” the US.
“Denmark fell to Germany after just six hours of fighting, and was totally unable to defend either itself or Greenland. So the United States was then compelled, and we did it,” he said.
Just as Vance once called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “ungrateful” in that notorious White House confrontation, Trump this time directed the same word at Denmark.
“How stupid were we to do that?” he said. “But we did it, but we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now?”
Trump applied similar reasoning to Canada.
“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also, but they’re not,” he said.
“Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that Mark the next time you make your statements,” referring to earlier statements by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Davos, where he talked about the “rupture” of US hegemony.
Trump has previously threatened to annex Canada and make it the 51st state of America during the administration of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trump’s interpretation of collective defense
Trump also turned to NATO – of which Denmark is a member – arguing that while countries should be able to defend themselves, the United States is better positioned to do so, and therefore should assume responsibility for Greenland.
“No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland, other than the United States,” Trump said.
“Every NATO ally has an obligation to be able to defend their own territory,” he added. “We’re a great power, much greater than people even understand.”
Trump has long cited alleged threats from China and Russia to justify annexing Greenland, though his limited sanctions on Moscow and repeated overtures toward Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin undercut that claim.
He returned to the defense rationale later in his remarks.
“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,” he said.
That said, he claimed he would not invade Greenland and would instead pursue it through other means – a potential reassurance after Greenland recently asked its citizens to brace for a possible invasion.
“That’s probably the biggest statement I made, because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” he said.
But in doing so, Trump drew a comparison between the US and the European colonists of old.
“And that’s the reason I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States, just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history, as many of the European nations have,” Trump added.
Denmark has offered to extend the US military presence in Greenland, already established since the 1950s, but Trump has indicated he intends to pursue full sovereignty.
Iceland vs Greenland
Trump also repeatedly referred to Greenland as Iceland, a separate European country.
“[The] stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland,” he said. “So Iceland has already cost us a lot of money.”
He claimed NATO “loved me” until “the last few days when I told them about Iceland.”
“[NATO was] not there for us on Iceland,” he added.
“Big, beautiful ocean” between us
Trump also invoked the “big, beautiful ocean” separating Europe and the United States when discussing transatlantic relations.
On the one hand, he questioned whether European allies would come to the US’s defense under NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause; on the other, he argued that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was primarily Europe’s concern.
“The problem with NATO is that we’ll be there for them 100%,” Trump said. “But I’m not sure that they’ll be there for us.”
“I know them all very well, I’m not sure that they’d be there,” he said. “With all the money we expend, with all the blood, sweat and tears, I don’t know that they’d be there for us.”
Article 5 has been invoked only once, following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Turning to Ukraine, Trump said Washington had little obligation to be involved.
“[I’m] talking about NATO, I’m talking about Europe. They have to work on Ukraine. We don’t. The United States is very far away. We have a big, beautiful ocean separating us. We have nothing to do with it,” Trump said.
European leaders have long described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an existential threat, particularly after a September 2025 incident in which nearly two dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace, followed by a series of unexplained drone sightings near European military bases.
Trump asked what Washington gained from trying to end the war in Ukraine, “besides death, destruction, and huge sums of money going to those who don’t appreciate our efforts?”
Same arguments on Biden
As he’s done many times before, Trump criticized his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden.
On Ukraine, Trump again claimed Putin wouldn’t have carried out the full-scale invasion of Ukraine if he were in office, despite Russia continuing its invasion more than a year after his return to the presidency.
Trump repeated his claim that the 2020 election – when he lost against Biden – was rigged, and suggested this contributed to Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine in 2022.
Turning to the US economy, Trump also blamed Biden for inflation and claimed grocery prices had fallen under his leadership. Data from NBC News shows prices have declined for some commodities, such as eggs, while overall food prices remain influenced by global factors.
Trump nonetheless claimed an “economic miracle” under his administration.
“We have proven them wrong,” he said. “In one year, our agenda has produced a transformation like America has not seen in over 100 years.”
Trump also claimed, without providing evidence, that former federal employees dismissed by his administration were now earning more in the private sector, with some allegedly doubling or tripling their salaries.
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