THE GUARDIAN: US president tells business and political leaders in Davos his country needs ownership to defend ‘unsecured island’
Donald Trump has stepped up his demand to annex Greenland but said the US would not use force to seize it during a rambling, invective-laden speech at Davos where he again lashed out at Europe’s political leaders.
Trump gave his speech as they sought to avert a full-scale crisis over Greenland – an effort that appeared successful later as the US president suddenly announced he would delay imposing tariffs on eight European countries from 1 February as negotiations continue.
The address to thousands of business and political leaders at the World Economic Form in the Swiss ski resort indicated that while Trump was renouncing the use of military force – for now at least – to wrest control of Greenland, he still intended to wield US economic and diplomatic power to bend European allies to his will.
He said he was “seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States”.
“I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force. All the US is asking for is a place called Greenland,” he said. “You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember.”
The remarks elicited a cool reaction from the foreign minister of Denmark, the Nato country of which Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory. Lars Løkke Rasmussen said it was “positive” that Trump had ruled out an invasion but the US president’s ambitions for the territory were “intact”. » | Heather Stewart in Davos and Andrew Roth Global affairs correspondent | Wednesday, January 21, 2026
