Trump says he will ‘find out’ when asked how far he will go to take Greenland – National
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the world would soon “find out” how far he would go to buy Greenland as European leaders vowed to respond to his territorial threats and warned of a breakup of the western alliance.
“How far are you willing to go to find Greenland?” a reporter asked Trump at a White House press conference marking his first year in office.
“You’ll find out,” Trump replied, without elaborating.
Trump spoke before attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, where he said he had “many meetings scheduled in Greenland” with European officials. He is scheduled to address the forum on Wednesday.
“I think things will go really well,” he said of those meetings.
“I think we’re going to work something out where NATO will be very happy, and we will be very happy, but we need it for security purposes. We need it for national security and global security.”
Trump has repeatedly ruled out taking military action to take over Greenland, a move polls show the majority of Americans do not support and has been rejected by some Republican lawmakers.
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European leaders who have appeared in Davos have been reluctant to push Trump’s ambitions for Greenland and to protect the sovereignty of the area and that of Denmark, which controls the Arctic island and is a NATO ally.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday criticized Trump’s announcement that, starting in February, a 10 percent tariff will be imposed on goods from the eight European countries that sent NATO troops to Greenland in recent days.
He vowed that the EU’s response would be “unwavering, united and balanced.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU could retaliate against the US by deploying one of its most powerful economic tools, known as the anti-coercion instrument, also known as the “trade bazooka.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a statement on Tuesday that “appeasement is always a sign of weakness” and that “Europe cannot afford to be weak – neither against its enemies, nor as an alliance.”
In a major foreign policy speech that focused on the need for middle powers like Canada to stand united in the fight against coercion and threats from “great powers” like the US, Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed Canada’s support for Greenland and Denmark.
“For Arctic sovereignty, we stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark and fully support their unique right to determine the future of Greenland. Our commitment to Article 5 of NATO is unwavering,” he said.
“Canada strongly opposes the Greenland settlement and seeks focused negotiations to achieve our shared goals of security and prosperity in the Arctic.”
The leaders of Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly emphasized the need for Greenland’s future to be decided by its people alone. The people of Greenland have held mass protests in recent days against a future US occupation.
Asked what gave the US the right to deprive the Greenlanders of their right to self-government, Trump told reporters: “If I talk to them, I’m sure they’ll be happy.”
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen stressed to reporters in Davos that US-European relations have “never been closer” and urged trading partners to “take a deep breath.”
—via files from Global Uday Rana and The Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
