The News
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was seeking “immediate negotiations” to acquire Greenland, but pledged not to use force to take the territory.
“I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” Trump said in a speech to government and business leaders in Davos. “Now everyone’s saying, ‘Oh good.’”
Still, Trump made the case that only Washington has the ability to protect Greenland and defended his campaign to seize the autonomous Danish territory.
“We need it for strategic national security,” Trump said, characterizing Greenland as a massive, undefended block of ice sitting in a key location that Russia and China are also eyeing. “It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land.”
US stocks ticked up Wednesday after Trump’s remarks about Greenland, a day after the heightened tensions sparked a selloff.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on eight European nations that fiercely oppose his efforts to take Greenland; the bloc is debating how to respond, given that retaliation risks a spiraling economic conflict.
“You can say yes and we would be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember,” Trump said.
His remarks reflected his posture toward the US’ traditional Western allies that underpinned last year’s tariff salvo and his push to hike NATO member’s military spending. He suggested Washington has given much to Europe over the years and gotten next to nothing in return.
“I know that we’d be there for them. I don’t know if they’d be there for us,” he said.
Know More
The president’s speech was expected to focus on his America First policies, a message that has largely been overshadowed by Greenland and the deepening transatlantic crisis.
Trump began his speech by touting his domestic economic agenda and lambasting Europe, saying the continent is “not heading in the right direction.” He positioned himself as the antidote to a liberal European agenda that he said has made some European countries “unrecognizable.”
“Here in Europe, we’ve seen the fate that the radical left tried to impose on America,” he said, criticizing the continent’s immigration, spending, and climate policies.