Trump said the US needs ownership of Greenland to secure the territory and protect global interests.
He ruled out military force but warned Denmark and allies against rejecting US demands.
European leaders pushed back as tensions over US foreign policy played out in Davos.
President Donald Trump used a high-profile address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday to press his most explicit case yet for the United States to acquire Greenland, pairing assurances that he would not use military force with blunt warnings aimed at Denmark and other allies, according to Time.
Speaking for more than an hour before world leaders and business executives, Trump framed Greenland as central to American and global security and called for “immediate negotiations” with Denmark, even as he insisted that the U.S. would not resort to force. The comments unsettled NATO partners and underscored the confrontational, transactional approach that has marked Trump’s return to office, Time reported.
“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.”
He added: “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.” At the same time, Trump made clear that he envisaged full American ownership of the semiautonomous Danish territory, arguing that “you need the ownership to defend it” and that “you can’t defend it on a lease.”
Calling Greenland “an enormous unsecured Island,” Trump said it was “actually part of North America, on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere,” adding: “That's our territory.”
According to Time, the remarks reflected Trump’s readiness to apply raw power and pressure to achieve territorial and strategic goals, even at the risk of straining alliances that have underpinned Western security since World War II. While rejecting the use of force, Trump coupled his stance with a warning: “You can say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember.”
That mix of conciliation and coercion recurred throughout the speech. Trump claimed credit for pushing NATO members to raise defence spending, while questioning whether they would come to the United States’ aid if it were attacked. “The problem with NATO is that we’ll be there for them 100%,” he said. “But I’m not sure that they’d be there for us.”
Once a forum associated with multilateralism and consensus, Davos this year was dominated by how governments and markets should respond to a Washington willing to pressure allies as forcefully as rivals, according to Time.
Trump opened by celebrating what he called a dramatic turnaround in his first year back in office, describing it as “the fastest and most dramatic economic turnaround in our country’s history.” He claimed inflation had been “defeated,” the border made “virtually impenetrable,” and growth set to exceed past records. He contrasted this with what he called a “nightmare of stagflation” under former President Joe Biden, whom he repeatedly mocked as “the autopen.”
As the speech progressed, the focus shifted from economic claims to a broader assertion of American dominance. “The USA is the economic engine of the planet,” Trump said. “And when America booms, the entire world booms.”
“Without us, right now you'd all be speaking German and a little Japanese, perhaps,” he told the audience of billionaires, officials and diplomats.
Trump repeatedly criticised Europe, warning that “certain places in Europe are not even recognizable anymore,” which he blamed on “unchecked mass migration,” environmental policies and the outsourcing of heavy industry. “The more windmills a country has,” he said, “the more money that country loses.”
He urged other nations to “follow what we’re doing,” while signalling consequences for those that did not. He spoke of slashing regulations, cutting tariffs for domestic producers, raising them on foreign goods, reducing the U.S. trade deficit and securing agreements covering 40% of American trade.
The tone landed uneasily with European leaders already adjusting to a more confrontational U.S. administration. Emergency summits, tariff contingency plans and efforts to shield European industries from American pressure have become routine since Trump’s return, Time reported.
The tension was most evident during Trump’s remarks on Greenland. “No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States,” he said, recalling that U.S. forces defended the island during World War II before returning it to Denmark — a decision he questioned. “How ungrateful are they now?” he added.
At points, Trump appeared to conflate Greenland with Iceland. “Iceland has already cost us a lot of money,” he said, referring to a recent dip in the stock market. By the end of the speech, U.S. markets had risen following his assurance that no military action would be used to acquire Greenland.
Trump’s posture contrasted sharply with remarks delivered a day earlier in Davos by European leaders. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned of a “rupture” in the world order, saying the rules-based system was eroding and that “the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.” French President Emmanuel Macron criticised coercion and tariffs used to pursue territorial aims, saying Europe would not accept the “law of the strongest” or be intimidated by “bullies,” according to Time.
Trump responded by singling out both leaders. He mocked Macron’s sunglasses and recounted how he said he forced France to narrow the gap between French and American drug prices by threatening tariffs. “Emmanuel, you’re going to do it, and you’re going to do it fast,” Trump said he told Macron, recalling threats of a 25% tariff on French goods and a 100% tariff on French wine and champagne. French officials have previously disputed his account.
Turning to Canada, Trump said it “gets a lot of freebies from us” and “should be grateful.” Referring to Carney’s Davos speech, he said, “I watched your Prime Minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful.”
“Canada lives because of the United States,” Trump added. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
According to Time, the exchanges illustrated Trump’s approach to diplomacy as a series of public confrontations, with leverage applied through economic pressure rather than quiet negotiation.
Halfway through the address, a senior Western European official told Time: “We can’t react to everything he says. We have our values and our interests, and we have to work with the U.S. to protect them. We have to talk. We listen; then we talk.”
Trump also revisited long-standing and disputed claims, including that his 2020 election loss was “rigged,” that he had settled eight wars in the past year, and that the war in Ukraine would not have occurred had he remained in office. He cited a deal with Venezuela over oil production, claimed credit for dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme, praised the expansion of U.S. nuclear and artificial intelligence infrastructure, and spoke approvingly of private companies building their own power plants.
Throughout the speech, Trump returned to a single theme: that American power, openly exercised, was the central force shaping global stability. “We did a lot of big things, all perfectly executed,” he said.
(With inputs from TIME)
