The abrupt about-face emerged hours after Trump had insisted that he wants to “get Greenland, including right, title and ownership,” but said he would not use force to do so while deriding European allies and vowing that NATO should not try to block U.S. expansionism.
In an extraordinary speech at the World Economic Forum, the president said he was asking for territory that was "cold and poorly located.” He said the U.S. had effectively saved Europe during World War II and even declared of NATO: “It’s a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades.”
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won’t do that, OK?” Trump said, later adding, “I don’t have to" and "I don’t want to use force.”
Trump often tries to increase pressure on the other side when he believes it can lead to a favorable deal, and he seemed happy to do so ahead of the forum in Davos.
The implications of his remarks were enormous, potentially rupturing an alliance that has held firm since the dawn of the Cold War and seemed among the globe's most unshakable pacts.
NATO was founded by leading European nations, the U.S. and Canada to form a bloc to counter the Soviet Union. Its other members have been steadfast in saying Greenland is not for sale and cannot be wrested from Denmark, meaning Trump's comments could yet mark the beginning of a larger geopolitical standoff.
The president has long said the U.S. will get control of Greenland no matter what it takes, arguing that Washington needs the world's largest island to counter threats in the surrounding Arctic Ocean from Russia and China.
