U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the world will soon “discover” how far he’ll go to amass Greenland as European leaders vowed to reply to his territorial threats and warned of a rupture to the western alliance.
“How far are you willing to go to amass Greenland?” a reporter asked Trump at a White House press briefing marking his first 12 months in office.
“You’ll discover,” Trump replied, without elaborating further.
Trump spoke before travelling to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, where he said he has “a variety of meetings scheduled on Greenland” with European officials. He’s scheduled to handle the forum on Wednesday.
“I believe things are going to work out pretty much actually,” he said about those meetings.
“I believe that we’ll work something out where NATO goes to be very comfortable, and we’re going to be very comfortable, but we want it for security purposes. We’d like it for national security and even world security.”
Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out military motion to take over Greenland, a move that polls suggest a big majority of Americans don’t support and has been dismissed by some Republican lawmakers.
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European leaders already in Davos have been increasingly blunt in pushing back against Trump’s desire for Greenland and defending each the territory’s sovereignty and that of Denmark, which controls the Arctic island and is a NATO ally.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday criticized Trump’s announcement that, starting February, a ten per cent tariff shall be imposed on goods from eight European nations which have sent NATO troops to Greenland in recent days.
She vowed that the EU’s response “shall be unflinching, united and proportional.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU could retaliate against the U.S. by deploying certainly one of its strongest economic tools, often known as the anti-coercion instrument, which can also be known colloquially as a “trade bazooka.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a press release Tuesday that “appeasement is at all times an indication of weakness” and that “Europe cannot afford to be weak — neither against its enemies, nor ally.”
In a significant foreign policy speech centred on the necessity for middle powers like Canada to face united against coercion and threats from “great powers” just like the U.S., Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed Canada’s support for Greenland and Denmark as well.
“On Arctic sovereignty, we stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark and fully support their unique right to find out Greenland’s future. Our commitment to NATO’s Article 5 is unwavering,” he said.
“Canada strongly opposes tariffs over Greenland and calls for focused talks to attain our shared objectives of security and prosperity within the Arctic.”
The leaders of Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly stressed the necessity for Greenland’s future to be decided by its people alone. Greenlanders have held mass protests in recent days against a future U.S. takeover.
Asked what gave the U.S. the suitable to remove Greenlanders’ right to self-determination, Trump told reporters: “After I speak to them, I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted to reporters in Davos that America’s relations with Europe “have never been closer” and urged trading partners to “take a deep breath.”
—with files from Global’s Uday Rana and the Associated Press
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