By suddenly announcing the deal on Greenland, Trump undermined his case for owning it
In a U-turn that causes whiplash, the President of the United States Donald Trump suddenly canceled his insistence on controlling Greenland, after a few hours he had long put his reason for the ownership of the Arctic island.
For weeks, Trump held firm on a take-it-or-leave-it position on Greenland, insisting that nothing short of a US-held Danish territory would address its national security concerns.
On Wednesday, Trump made a detailed case about US control of the island during his hour-by-hour speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Then, about four hours after leaving the stage, Trump broke any confirmation of his claims.
The president posted on social media that he “drafted the future agreement regarding Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region” thanks to a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that lasted less than an hour.
Who says Rome wasn’t built in a day?
US President Donald Trump repeatedly turned to the Greenland issue in a long speech at the World Economic Forum, saying that ‘big, beautiful ice’ is the key to US national security. (Excerpt from Jan. 21, 2026, Davos speech)
Although few details have emerged about the “framework,” it is clear that it does not include Denmark handing over Greenland to the US.
Trump also wrote that he would not impose the tariffs he had threatened to impose on Denmark and seven other European NATO countries that supported its refusal to give up Greenland by sending small troops to the Arctic island.
‘Many lies about the Arctic’
Trump’s assertion of American ownership follows his announcement during his Davos speech that he will not use military force to control Greenland.
Anders Vistisen, a Danish member of the European Parliament, says that after ruling that the military will be represented, Trump’s remaining arguments for controlling the US have been exposed as weak.
“What’s left is lies and a lot of lies about the Arctic and Greenland,” Vistisen told CBC News Network in an interview after Trump’s speech, but before his social media post.
Vistisen said Trump “couldn’t come up with reasons why he should have Greenland and why he needs it.”
US President Trump Denmark ‘no thanks’ – but says he ‘will not use force’ to get Greenland. He also had some words for Canada while at the World Economic Forum. Get the latest on CBCNews.ca, the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis.
Henri-Paul Normandin, former Canadian ambassador, says that Trump must have seen Europe’s decision to oppose his ambitions for Greenland and was left looking for a way to win.
“You’re actually pulling back to some extent because Europe is very reactive,” Normandin told the CBC News Network.
Normandin says that Europe until recently was trying to appease Trump.
“If you are faced with a bull, be it in the school field or in the country, if you comply with his demands, he will just want something else,” he said.
“This time, Europe says, ‘Wow, you are about to cross the red line, that of sovereignty and territorial integrity.’
US President Donald Trump responded to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech in Davos, Switzerland, saying ‘Canada lives because of the United States’ and Canadians should be grateful.
Alan Leventhal, former US ambassador to Denmark, says the US has legitimate national security issues related to Greenland, but they can all be resolved with a long-term military cooperation agreement.
“It gives us [Americans] the right to build many more bases throughout Greenland,” Leventhal told the CBC News Network on Wednesday.
“What I don’t understand is this whole idea that we should own Greenland in terms of getting the security systems we want,” Leventhal said.
A speech full of contradictions
A catalog of grievances with NATO appears to support Trump’s demands for control of Greenland.
“The United States is being treated unfairly by NATO,” Trump said.
He said previous administrations spent “billions and billions of dollars on NATO and got absolutely nothing back. We never asked for anything.”
Yet NATO’s safeguard principle – a clause that treats an attack on one member as an attack on everyone – has been used only once in the alliance’s 75-year history: after the al-Qaeda attack on September 11, 2001, against the US.
Denmark, the UK and Canada were among the many NATO members who contributed troops to the subsequent war in Afghanistan.
Trump’s speech was full of such contradictions, revealing some holes in his arguments even before he took part in his identity push.
He downplayed his demand for Greenland as a “minimum request” for the area he dismissed as “a piece of ice,” yet he raised the importance of having the Arctic island to US national security.
He described Russia as a threat to Greenland, despite little factual evidence, while downplaying Russia’s threat to Europe, despite Vladimir Putin’s actual invasion of Ukraine.
And while he backed away from using military force to seize Greenland, he continued to threaten economic power to get his way.
US President Donald Trump told the World Economic Forum that he would ‘not use force’ to get Greenland from Denmark, calling for ‘quick negotiations’ to make it happen. ‘They can choose. You can say yes, and we’ll appreciate it very much, or you can say no and we’ll miss it.’
There was also a veiled threat contained in what was arguably the worst line of Trump’s speech.
“You can say yes and we’ll appreciate it, or you can say no, and we’ll remember,” Trump said.
Later on Wednesday, a reporter asked Trump what he meant, and what the consequences of refusing would be.
“You’ll have to figure that out for yourself,” Trump replied.
That exchange happened just moments before Trump entered his meeting with the NATO secretary general that led to the announcement of the deal.
