By Karmrath News Desk
Trump opened by striking a polite note, saying, “I have tremendous respect for the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark,” before immediately asserting American dominance. “No nation or group of nations is better positioned to defend Greenland than the United States,” he told the Davos audience.
Trump dubbed the Arctic island territory a “big, beautiful piece of ice,” reducing an entire territory and its population to a strategic asset, brushing aside sovereignty and human lives in his push for control.
He then turned to history, reminding Europe of World War II. Denmark, he said, “fell to Germany in just six hours of fighting,” forcing the US to step in. “The US was then compelled … to send our forces to hold Greenland territory, at great cost and expense,” Trump said.
After the war, “which we won, we won it big,” Trump added, the victory was so decisive that, without the US, “you’d all be speaking German and Japanese, perhaps.” Despite that, he said Washington handed Greenland back. “How stupid were we. We gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now.”
Trump accused US allies of exploiting American power and generosity. “(The US) give so much and we get so little in return,” he said, before spelling out exactly what he wants. “What we’re asking in return is a place called Greenland.”
He then made a remark that stunned the room.
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable,” Trump said, pausing before walking it back slightly. “But I won’t do that. Okay. Now everyone says, oh, good.”
Trump insisted the threat itself was the point.
“That’s probably the biggest statement I made, because people thought I would use force,” he said. “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
Still, the warning to Denmark was unmistakable. “You can say yes, and we’ll be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember,” Trump said, framing the decision as a test of loyalty rather than negotiation.
The president then widened his attack to Europe as a whole. “I love Europe, I want to see it do good but it’s not going in the right direction,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to insult anybody.” On energy policy, he mocked Europe’s transition efforts: “You’re supposed to make money with energy, not lose energy … I want Europe to do great, I want the UK to do great.” He followed it with a sharp jab at Wind Mills: “They kill birds, they ruin landscapes … Stupid people buy them.”
Trump’s Davos appearance left little room for diplomacy. Greenland, in his telling, is not a partner’s territory but a strategic asset America once defended, returned, and now wants back and Europe, he made clear, should choose its answer carefully.