'Won't use force': Trump keeps up Greenland guessing game in Davos

WASHINGTON — Without the United States, Europe would sink into economic ruin as other powers overwhelmed a broke, neutered and defenseless NATO.

That was the muscle-flexing message President Donald Trump delivered Wednesday at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, before an audience that included European leaders he’s taunted over his threat to take Greenland.

And he kept the global guessing game going about his intentions toward the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

“People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” he said. “All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.”

Trump began his much-anticipated speech by mocking some of the world leaders in the room, saying their countries and economies would collapse without America propping them up. He bragged about deals he has cut with other nations since returning to office 366 days ago.

“These agreements raise growth and cause stock markets to boom, not only in the U.S., but virtually every country that came to make a deal. Because, as you’ve learned, when the United States goes up, you follow.” Later he said: “Without us, most of the other countries don’t even work.” (Fact check: As a bloc, the European Union represents one of the largest economies in the world.)

Trump’s speech was only a few minutes behind its scheduled start time, despite the Boeing 747 aircraft he was traveling on Tuesday night experiencing an electrical issue and returning to Joint Base Andrews. He continued the trip later on a modified Boeing 757 jet.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt joked to reporters traveling with the president that a Qatari 747 jet formerly used by its royal family was looking “much better.” The Qatari government gifted it to Trump via the U.S. Air Force last year, prompting critics to warn that the transaction violated the so-called Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. That plane is not currently in service, awaiting new equipment to support a traveling president.

Here are three takeaways from Trump’s much-anticipated Davos remarks.

‘Piece of ice’

Trump delivered an impassioned pitch for the United States to take control of Greenland, citing U.S. forces fighting there during World War II.

He cast the Arctic territory, which he referred to as a “big, beautiful piece of ice,” as within America’s geographic sphere of influence.

“We need it for strategic national security and international security. This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America, on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere. That’s our territory,” the U.S. president said to a silent hall. “It is therefore a core national security interest of the United States of America, and in fact, it’s been our policy for hundreds of years to prevent outside threats from entering our hemisphere.”

Trump said he was “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.”

White House aides said this week that some meetings about Trump’s desire to take Greenland were to be expected at the Davos summit — even while European leaders continue to reject his calls. Nevertheless, on Wednesday, Trump persisted.

“We want strong allies, not seriously weakened ones. We want Europe to be strong,” he said. “I have tremendous respect for both the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark, tremendous respect. But every NATO ally has an obligation to be able to defend their own territory. And the fact is, no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States.”

As some European countries have sent troops to Greenland since the Trump administration stepped up its efforts to acquire or seize the island, Trump seemed to send a warning shot of his own.

“We’re a great power, much greater than people even understand,” he said as European leaders sat in the same hall. “I think they found that out two weeks ago in Venezuela.”

Trump framed his demand for Greenland as something owed to the United States as payback for Washington spending more on defense than other NATO countries. He said alliance members would not defend America if it were attacked, seeming to ignore the post-9/11 era, when NATO countries — including Denmark — took significant personnel losses in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“The problem with NATO is that we’ll be there for them 100%, but I’m not sure that they’d be there for us if we gave them the call, ‘Gentlemen, we are being attacked. We’re under attack by such-and-such a nation,’” he said. “I’m not sure that they’d be there.”

Trump is slated to meet with European leaders later Wednesday and Thursday, before returning to Washington.

‘Stupid people’

During a lengthy news briefing at the White House on Tuesday, Trump sent mixed signals about his views of and commitment to Washington’s European allies. Onstage in Davos, he took repeated verbal jabs at those same countries.

Trump chided Europe over its recent energy crisis, asserting it was a consequence of left-leaning policies he described as the “Green New Scam.”

“Because of my landslide election victory, the United States avoided the catastrophic energy collapse which befell every European nation that pursued the ‘Green New Scam,’ perhaps the greatest hoax in history,” he said. “You’re supposed to make money with energy, not lose money.”

Trump slammed European countries that purchase windmills, including ones made by Chinese companies, declaring: “Stupid people buy them.”

“The United Kingdom produces just one-third of the total energy from all sources that it did in 1999 … and they’re sitting on top of the North Sea, one of the greatest reserves anywhere in the world,” he said. “But they don’t use it, and that’s one reason why their energy has reached catastrophically low levels with equally high prices.”

As always, there were some contradictions. One came when Trump concluded his often-critical remarks with this: “I congratulate you on your tremendous success.”

‘Asking Congress’

Though thousands of miles away, the U.S. president delivered several demands for Congress as his administration scrambles to address Americans’ concerns about the high cost of living.

“I have signed an executive order banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. It’s just not fair to the public,” he said. “They’re not … able to buy a house. And I’m calling on Congress to pass that ban into permanent law.”

“I think they will,” he predicted.

Trump also said mounting credit card debt had become among the “biggest barriers to saving for a down payment.”

“I’m asking Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year,” he said. “And this will help millions of Americans save for a home. They have no idea they’re paying 28%. They go out there a little late in their payment, and they end up losing their house.”

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers have largely been focused on wrapping up the fiscal 2026 spending bills ahead of a Jan. 30 deadline. But voters continue expressing concerns about the economy.

A Jan. 16-19 Economist/YouGov survey found 70% of Americans saying the state of the economy was either fair or poor, while 26% referred to it as good or excellent. As of Wednesday morning, a RealClearPolitics average of a dozen recent polls put Trump underwater on his handling of the economy, with 55.9% on average expressing disapproval against 40.9% who approved.