Fact-checking Trump's claims from his Davos speech

The speech, which lasted more than an hour, contained many false claims that were addressed by the BBC's fact-finding team.

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Photo: BBC
Photo: BBC
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

U a speech in which he jumped from topic to topic Speaking to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, US President Donald Trump made a series of controversial claims.

Trump touched on his desire to take over Greenland from Denmark - which he said was "a small ask", America's contribution to NATO and wind energy in China.

In a speech that lasted more than an hour there were many false claims that were addressed by the BBC fact-finding team.

Did America 'get Greenland back' after World War II?

Trump has been talking for weeks about wanting to take over Greenland, a largely self-governing territory of Denmark.

He claims that the island is of crucial importance to American national security.

“We gave Greenland back to Denmark” after World War II, Tramau said in Davos, adding: “How stupid were we to do that?”

But Greenland did not belong to America so that it could return it.

In 1933, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as its predecessor, issued decision that Greenland belongs to Denmark.

Denmark surrendered to Germany in 1940, and a year later, American and Danish representatives signed an agreement allowing America to defend Greenland to prevent the Nazis from taking it.

This led to the construction of American bases on the island, as well as deployment of American troops.

However, the agreement did not include a transfer of sovereignty, meaning Greenland never became a US territory.

Does America pay 'virtually 100 percent' of NATO defense?

The US president criticized NATO and claimed that "the United States pays practically 100 percent" in the military-political alliance.

Regarding the level of contributions from NATO member countries, he said: "They didn't even pay two percent, and now they pay five percent."

None of these claims are true.

In recent years, American defense spending it accounted for about 70 percent of total spending by NATO countries.

This dropped to 65 percent in 2024, and in 2025 it was estimated to be 62 percent, as all NATO members were required to spend at least two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense for the first time.

The American president forced these countries to commit to greater defense spending, but the five percent that Trump is talking about is long-term goal to be achieved by 2035.

Currently, no NATO member spends that much, as even Poland, which allocates the most of its GDP on defense, is estimated to have spent just under 4,5 percent in 2025.

Is it true that America received nothing from NATO in return?

America "never got anything" from NATO and that "we never asked for anything," Trump claimed in Davos.

Na NATO website It states that "collective defense is the most fundamental principle of NATO," and Article 5 of its founding treaty states that "an armed attack against one NATO member state shall be considered an attack against them all."

The US is the only member state of the alliance to invoke Article 5, doing so after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

NATO countries contributed troops and military equipment to the US-led war in Afghanistan that followed.

Among the countries that contributed was Denmark, which suffered the highest per capita losses of all American allies.

They were mostly sent to the most problematic areas along with British forces in Helmand province.

Getty Images

Is it true that China has no wind farms?

Trump criticized wind energy, a long-standing target of his, at Davos, which he said was part of the "new green scam."

He singled out China, claiming that although it makes a lot of wind turbines, "he has not been able to find a single wind farm in China."

China has one of the world's largest wind farms in Gansu, which can be seen from space.

BBC

China generates more wind energy than any other country, according to Our World in Data (Our world in data).

His statistics show that China generated 997 terawatt-hours from wind in 2024.

That was more than twice as much as America, which was in second place.

Does the UK take 92 percent of its oil revenues from the North Sea?

Trump also singled out Great Britain in his speech, criticizing its energy policy.

Speaking about North Sea oil, Trump incorrectly stated: "The UK is making it impossible for oil companies to operate, taking 92 percent of all revenues."

Oil and gas companies in the North Sea pay 30 percent corporate tax on their income and an additional 10 percent on top of that.

That's more than the 25 percent corporate tax paid by other large companies.

In November 2024, the government increased the windfall profit tax for oil and gas companies from 35 to 38 percent.

This brings the total tax on North Sea oil to 78 percent, which is paid on profits, not revenues.

The windfall profits tax, introduced by the Conservatives in 2022 in response to rising electricity bills, expires in 2030.

Watch the video: Why Trump wants Greenland

Did Trump secure $18 trillion in investment for America?

Trump also spoke about the investments his administration has secured for America.

"We have secured investments of a record $18 trillion," he said, later repeating that "$18 trillion has been invested."

He has made similar claims before - in October he said the US had attracted $17 trillion worth of investment - but there is no publicly available evidence to support such figures.

White House website, last updated in November, strives to track “new investments in American manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure.”

She states that investments under Trump total $9,6 trillion.

The largest sum on the list is a $1,4 trillion investment in manufacturing and industry from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The website of the UAE embassy in Washington states that the UAE is "working with the Trump administration on a historic investment of $1,4 trillion in the United States over the next decade."

Greg Ochler, a statistician at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told the BBC that the White House tracker "includes promises that may not materialize - for example, the trade deal with the EU now appears frozen due to tensions over Greenland."

The European Parliament's International Trade Committee announced on January 21 that it would suspend the agreement "until America decides to return to a path of cooperation rather than confrontation."

Although there has been an increase in foreign investment in the U.S. over the past year, “it will take several years before the results of the Trump administration’s investment initiative become apparent,” Auclair said.

Reporting by: Tom Edgington, Lucy Gilder, Matt Murphy, Nicholas Barrett and Anthony Ruben

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