Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has stated that he won’t impose himself on Greenland, but he has continued to push for enraging control of the Danish territory in a speech in Davos, Switzerland. He also hinted at consequences if his ambitions were thwarted.
At the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, Trump said, “People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force.”
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
He announced afterwards on his Truth Social platform that he had arrived at a “framework of a future deal” with respect to claiming Greenland, after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Trump agreed to drop the tariffs he had threatened to impose on European allies starting February 1 with no information on the details of that framework.
Here are the key takeaways from his Davos speech:
Would you like to comment briefly on Greenland?
Trump opened his remarks about Greenland with an attempt at humour.
He made a joke about it, saying, “I was going to leave it out of the speech, but I think I would have been criticized very negatively.”
After a lengthy critique of Denmark, which he claimed was too weak to protect Greenland, Trump repeated his key position on the territory.
For both strategic national security and international security, we require it. This enormous, unsecured island is actually part of North America. He claimed that that is “our territory.”
Trump proceeded to assert that no nation other than the US can secure Greenland, and that it was therefore essential for European leaders to turn the self-governing island over to US control.
Trump stated that he wants to hold discussions with the United States about the United States’ acquisition of Greenland.
He proceeded to describe the NATO alliance as a money sink for the US, one that failed to offer the country any benefits.
Trump remarked, “We never asked for or received anything.”
The president’s remarks failed to acknowledge NATO’s assistance after the attacks on September 11, 2001, when the US invoked the alliance’s collective defence clause and member states sent military air defence in response.
Trump, however, continued to portray NATO as a flimsy investment that would not produce rewards unless required.
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But he retorted, “I won’t do that.”
“That’s probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I am not required to use force.  , I don’t want to use force. I’m not going to use force.
Earlier this month, White House officials said Trump was considering “a range of options” for acquiring Greenland, including military action. Trump issued a second warning to Denmark at Davos, giving the United States an ultimatum to turn over Greenland.
“We’ve never asked for anything else. And we weren’t allowed to keep that piece of land. So they have a choice. We will be very grateful if you say yes. Or you can say no, and we will remember”, he said.
Hours later, the US president announced the “framework” for a Greenland deal, though it is unclear how much of an influence Denmark or Greenland had or how the deal might go.
Rutte later told Fox News that the issue of Greenland’s sovereignty did not come up in their conversation.
‘ You follow us down, and you follow us up ‘
Trump referred to the US economy as the engine of global growth, describing it as having global influence.
“The USA is the economic engine on the planet. The world also booms when America booms. It’s been the history”, Trump said.
He continued, “When it goes bad, it goes bad.” “You all follow us down, and you follow us up. And we’re at a point where we’ve never, I don’t think, ever been. I never thought we could do it this quickly”.
Trump, who won a second term in 2025, claimed he anticipated slower economic growth.
“My biggest surprise is I thought it would take more than a year, maybe like a year and one month. However, it has already occurred very quickly.
He then turned his attention to Europe, offering a bleak assessment of the continent’s trajectory. Without providing any supporting data, Trump attributed the continent’s problems to policies promoting green energy and migration.
“Certain places in Europe are not recognisable, frankly, any more. Trump, in response to anti-immigrant rhetoric, said, “They’re not recognisable.”
“I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction”.
Tariffs and the trade deficit
Trump defended his frequent use of tariffs and other protectionist trade policies, saying that the measures had the power to reduce the US’s trade deficit and boost domestic production.
“With tariffs, we’ve radically reduced our ballooning trade deficit, which was the largest in world history. Every year, we lost more than $1 trillion, and that was a waste. It was going to waste”, Trump said.
However, I reduced our monthly trade deficit by an incredible 77% in a year. And all of this with no inflation, something everyone said could not be done”, he added.
Trump also cited the success of the policy as evidenced by what he termed gains in exports, manufacturing, and industrial capacity.
“During the process, we’ve made historic trade deals with partners covering 40 percent of all US trade, some of the greatest companies and countries in the world. Countries are also our partners, too. The European nations, Japan, South Korea, they’re our partners”, he said.
Trump’s prediction for Venezuela: “I’m going to do fantastically well.”
Speaking about Venezuela’s economy and oil sector, Trump said the country had suffered a sharp decline because of past policies under socialist leaders like Nicolas Maduro and the late Hugo Chavez.
However, he predicted that the South American nation is now on the verge of a quick recovery, aided in part by US and international energy companies’ cooperation.
Trump has taken an active interest in Venezuela’s governance since a January 3 military operation to abduct Maduro and transport him to the US to face criminal charges. Since Maduro’s ouster, he has since confirmed that the US has seized 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela.
“Venezuela has been an amazing place for so many years, but then they went bad with their policies”, Trump said.
It was a wonderful nation twenty years ago, but it now has problems. But we’re helping them. We’re going to be splitting up with those 50 million barrels, and they’ll be earning more money than they’ve ever done in a long time.
Trump proceeded to praise the interim government of President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, for cooperating with his ambitions in Venezuela.
Trump predicted that Venezuela would perform “fantastically well.”
“We appreciate all of the cooperation we’ve been given. Great cooperation has been provided for us. Once the attack ended, the attack ended, and they said, ‘ Let’s make a deal. ‘ That should be done by more people.
He went on to predict a dramatic economic recovery for the oil-rich nation, citing renewed foreign investment and support from major energy firms.
In the next six months, “Venezuela will make more money than they have in the last 20 years,” he said.
“Every major oil company is coming in with us. It is incredible. It’s a beautiful thing to see. The country’s leaders have done a lot of good. They’ve been very, very smart”.
Into the energy-related topic.
Trump then turned to energy policy, highlighting a shift in his stance on nuclear power and reiterating his longstanding criticism of renewable energy.
“We’re going deep into nuclear,” he said. I was not a big fan because I didn’t like the risk, the danger, but the progress they’ve made with nuclear is unbelievable, and the safety progress they’ve made is incredible”, Trump said.
“We’re very much into the world of nuclear energy, and it’s very, very safe,” he said.
His statements follow a news release from the US Department of Energy on Tuesday that announced Trump would be “unleashing America’s next nuclear renaissance” by expanding infrastructure to create such energy.
Trump’s personal ties to private nuclear power companies have also increased. In December, the Trump Media and Technology Group, of which Trump is the majority owner, announced a $6bn merger with TAE Technologies, a fusion energy company.
Trump has resisted opposing green energy initiatives that aim to combat climate change, despite switching to nuclear energy. Calling such efforts the “Green New Scam” – his spin on the “Green New Deal” – he blamed Europe’s economic wobbles on efforts to embrace renewable technology.
“Throughout Europe, there are windmills. There are windmills all over the place, and they are losers. He told his audience at Davos, “I’ve noticed that the more windmills a nation has, the more money that nation loses, and the worse that nation is doing.”
‘ Canada should be grateful ‘
Trump also responded to Mark Carney’s remarks from his podium on Tuesday, according to  .
The leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, Carney had encouraged world leaders to prepare for a future without US leadership and warned that the “great powers” of the world appeared to be abandoning “even the pretence of rules and values for the unhindered pursuit of their power”.
It was obvious that Carney’s remarks targeted the US leader, even though he did not specifically mention Trump. Trump replied more directly during his turn at the Davos podium.
Trump claimed that “Canada receives a lot of freebies from us.”
“They should be grateful. They are not, though. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He didn’t seem as appreciative. Canada lives because of the United States. Keep in mind that when you make your statements, Mark.
Trump says he is meeting Zelenskyy
Trump also discussed the Ukrainian conflict and his media relations efforts with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.
“I’m dealing with President Putin, and he wants to make a deal”, Trump said.
“I think President Zelenskyy wants to make a deal, and I think that’s what I’m talking to.” I’m meeting him today. He might be present in the audience at this time.
A post on Zelenskyy’s social media account, however, showed the Ukrainian leader at his presidential office in Kyiv on Wednesday, holding a meeting on the energy situation following Russian strikes. His office confirmed that he was in Ukraine and not in Davos.
Still, Trump insisted that he would help navigate Ukraine and Russia to an end to their war, which began nearly four years ago in February 2022.
They must end that war, they say. Because too many people are dying, needlessly dying. Too many people are losing their souls. It’s the only reason I’m interested in doing it. However, I’m assisting Europe by doing it. I’m helping NATO”, he said.
“Those lovely sunglasses,” you say.
At one point in his meandering speech, Trump stopped to poke fun at French President Emmanuel Macron, mocking the aviator sunglasses he wore to Davos.
“I had those gorgeous sunglasses on him yesterday. What the hell happened”? Trump posed a question.
Macron’s office said the choice to wear sunglasses during his speech, which took place indoors, was to protect his eyes because of a burst blood vessel.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply