Davos: US President Donald Trump has said the United States should reopen negotiations with Denmark to acquire Greenland, arguing that the vast Arctic territory is a “core national security interest” and can only be protected by Washington amid rising global military threats.
“No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland, other than the United States,” Trump said, asserting that the island occupies a critical strategic position “right smack in the middle” between the US, Russia, and China.
Referring to World War II during his address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Trump recalled that Denmark was unable to defend either itself or Greenland after falling to Nazi Germany. “The United States was then compelled… to send our own forces to hold the Greenland territory,” he said, adding that American troops protected the island “at great cost and expense” to prevent enemy forces from gaining a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump said the US later returned Greenland to Denmark after the war, a move he questioned sharply. “After the war, which we won… we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that?” he said, while also accusing Denmark of ingratitude despite American wartime sacrifices.
Arguing that the security environment has fundamentally changed, Trump warned that modern warfare now involves missiles, nuclear weapons, and advanced systems that were not present decades ago. “Our country and the world face much greater risks than it did ever before,” he said, citing recent conflicts as evidence of rapidly evolving military capabilities.
Trump dismissed claims that Greenland’s value lies in rare earth resources, saying, “That’s not the reason we need it.” Instead, he stressed that the island’s importance is rooted in “strategic national security and international security.”
“This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America, on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere,” Trump said. “That’s our territory. It is therefore a core national security interest of the United States of America.”
He said it has long been US policy to prevent outside powers from entering the hemisphere, adding that American Presidents have sought to purchase Greenland “for nearly two centuries.”
Trump criticised Denmark for failing to honor its defence commitments. He noted that Copenhagen had pledged in 2019 to spend over $200 million to strengthen Greenland’s defences but “spent less than 1 per cent of that amount.”
“It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice,” Trump said, arguing that American ownership would benefit both Europe and NATO.
America is now world’s 'hottest economy'Davos: US President Donald Trump addressed the World Economic Forum (WEF) where he strongly promoted what he called the “American growth miracle” and praised his administration’s economic record. Speaking to global leaders and business executives, Trump said the United States had transformed from a “dead economy” into the “hottest economy in the world” within one year of his return to the White House. He claimed that growth, productivity, investment and incomes were all rising rapidly, while inflation had been brought under control. “After 12 months back in the White House, our economy is booming. Growth is exploding, productivity is surging, investment is soaring, incomes are rising. Inflation has been defeated,” Trump said, calling it the fastest and most dramatic economic turnaround in US history. Trump sharply criticised former President Joe Biden, accusing his administration of creating stagflation, a situation of low growth and high inflation. According to Trump, his policies have reversed that trend. He said the country is now witnessing very low inflation and exceptionally strong economic growth. Highlighting Wall Street’s performance, Trump said the US stock market has touched record highs 52 times since the election. He also claimed that the US economy is growing at almost double the rate projected by the International Monetary Fund last year and could grow even faster under his tariff and growth policies. |
