US President Donald Trump said yesterday that he would not take over Greenland by force, but during a speech in Davos he stood firm on his demands for control over the Danish territory and hinted at the consequences if his ambitions were thwarted.
“People thought I was going to use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss Alpine resort. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” he added, without mentioning his threat of tariffs.
Trump said he wanted urgent negotiations on the US taking over Greenland, which is a Danish territory, and warned: "They have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very grateful, or you can say no, and we will remember."
US stocks rebounded modestly after the sharpest sell-off in three months, with the S&P 500 (.SPX) up about 1% after Trump's remarks.
Instead of focusing on the economic message his aides had announced in advance, Trump delivered a more than hour-long speech full of rebukes and threats directed at countries he had already upset with his efforts to seize territory from Denmark, a longtime NATO ally of the United States.
He criticized Europeans on issues ranging from wind energy and environmental protection to immigration and geopolitics, presenting himself as a defender of Western values.
And while he took the threat of force off the table for Greenland, Trump boasted about America's military might, citing recent operations, such as the surprise ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.
Calling Denmark "ungrateful," the Republican US president downplayed the territorial dispute as a "small claim" over a "piece of ice" and said a possible takeover would not pose a threat to the NATO alliance, of which both Denmark and the United States are members.
“It is clear from this speech that the president’s ambition has not diminished,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen, adding: “It is in itself positive that the president says what he says regarding the military, but that does not make the problem go away.”
Trump said Greenland was crucial to the "Golden Dome" missile defense system and called for urgent negotiations.
"No nation or group of nations is in a position to provide Greenland except the United States," said Trump, who on four occasions mistakenly referred to Greenland as Iceland, another NATO member state.
Trump, who marked the end of a tumultuous first year in office on Tuesday, is preparing to overshadow the agenda of the World Economic Forum (WEF), where global elites deliberate on economic and political trends.
NATO leaders have warned that Trump's strategy regarding Greenland could shake the alliance, while the leaders of Denmark and Greenland have offered a wide range of options for a greater US presence on the strategically important island of 57.000.
His threat over the weekend to impose additional tariffs on eight European countries, including NATO allies, if they do not support his takeover of the Arctic island has rattled politicians in Europe and rattled markets.
The European Parliament is suspending work on the European Union's trade agreement with the United States, in protest over Trump's demands over Greenland.
"We want a piece of ice to protect the world, and they're not giving it to us," Trump said in a speech in a congressional hall, filled with, as he put it, "so many friends, and a few enemies."
His words drew uncomfortable looks and muffled laughter from the Davos audience, but most remained silent.
Meanwhile, hundreds of delegates gathered in the lobby to listen to or watch Trump's speech on video monitors or mobile phones. After an hour, most lost interest and returned to their conversations.
Trump also used the speech to settle other scores. He harshly attacked Britain for what he said was insufficient oil extraction from the North Sea, Switzerland for its trade surplus with the United States, France for its pharmaceutical policy, Canada for what he saw as ingratitude, and NATO for what he said was an unwillingness to accommodate American interests.
His speech, however, touched on Trump's biggest domestic political challenge - voters' poor ratings of his handling of the cost of living issue - to a much lesser extent. Trump did not mention his recent initiatives to lower housing costs until nearly an hour into his speech.
Several European policymakers in the room declined to comment on Trump's statements.
However, Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Eba Busch said: "In many ways it is not surprising. This shows once again that the EU must toughen up, we must endure."
Meanwhile, Alastair Campbell, former communications chief for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said: "How embarrassing it all was."
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is considered the favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination in the upcoming election, said Trump's speech was "meaningless."
"It was a very meaningless speech. He wanted Greenland last week. He wanted it two weeks ago, and he said we should negotiate. And the European Union said, 'We're happy to negotiate, and we never kicked you out. You kind of got out on your own. You can still put your bases there.'"
"This has upset a lot of people, as you can see from the stock market reaction." "I worry about NATO. I worry about truth and trust."
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