Trump threatens Europe over Greenland, but rules out sending troops

Jared Kushner, foreground center, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, sits with Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, as President Donald Trump speaks to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. At left is Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

By JIM TANKERSLEY and ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS

President Donald Trump told European leaders in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday that he would not send troops to seize Greenland from Denmark, while still demanding ownership of the large, icy island and threatening dire economic and security consequences if he does not get his way.

Addressing a room full of heads of state, billionaires and other world leaders, Trump said repeatedly that the United States needed Greenland for national security purposes. He said that only the United States was strong enough to defend Greenland from external threats, and that defending it made sense only if the United States owned it, as opposed to leased it.

He called for “immediate negotiations” to discuss transfer of ownership of the island to the United States from Denmark and derided European countries as unsightly and dependent on the United States. “Without us, most of the countries don’t even work,” Trump said.

The speech encapsulated Trump’s approach to global power and policymaking in his second term: alternating between coercing and humiliating leaders of countries the U.S. has long counted as close allies in the pursuit of a goal Trump appears to see as a critical piece of his legacy: expanding the United States’ physical footprint.

“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable,” Trump said. “But I won’t do that. That’s probably the biggest statement, because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.”

A few breaths later, though, Trump issued explicit and implicit threats to European leaders if they did not grant his wishes. He reminded the audience that he had unilaterally taxed imports to the United States from countries across Europe and beyond, having already threatened to increase tariffs on Denmark and several European countries that have defended Danish ownership of the island.

As is often the case in their delicate dealings with Trump, some European leaders reacted to what they saw as the most positive note in the remarks — his pledge not to deploy troops — and expressed hope that they might still reach compromise with the president over Greenland’s future.

Rasmus Jarlov, chair of the defense committee in Denmark’s parliament, said in an interview that “we’ve heard a lot worse” from Trump.

“I’m glad he’s ruling out military force,” Jarlov said. “I didn’t see in his remarks today an escalation. He insists he wants Greenland, but that’s not new. Of course, we still insist that we are not handing over Greenland.”

Trump left little room for compromise in his speech, however. Many European leaders have continued to say that they cannot countenance ceding full ownership to the United States, but they also say they would be open to almost any other arrangement that expands U.S. presence on the island. On Wednesday, Trump said, again, that would not suffice.

“You need the ownership to defend it,” Trump said. A moment later, he added: “Who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or a lease?”

The president was alternatively solicitous and disdainful of his European hosts in his winding, hourlong speech.

Trump repeatedly expressed love for Europe, recounting his own European heritage. But he said much of the Continent had become unrecognizable and weak, criticizing its numbers of immigrants and turn toward renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. He said that European economies and security would collapse without U.S. support.

He also appeared to conflate the island of his ambitions, Greenland, with the island nation of Iceland, when talking about a recent decline in stock prices. “Our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland,” he said. “So Iceland’s already cost us a lot of money.”

At multiple points, Trump seemed to suggest he would use economic leverage to force a sale of Greenland. He recounted how he had used tariff threats to force President Emmanuel Macron of France to cut a deal on prescription drug prices, though Macron’s office called the story “fake news.”

Trump also recounted how he raised tariffs on his hosts, Switzerland, following a call with a senior Swiss official. “She rubbed me the wrong way,” he said.

Any additional tariff threats Trump makes in service of a Greenland acquisition could be hampered by an imminent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is considering a constitutional challenge to Trump’s use of emergency powers to tax imports.

But on Wednesday, perhaps the most ominous warning Trump issued to Europe was the least detailed.

European countries, Trump said, “have a choice” when it comes to allowing the U.S. to take ownership of Greenland.

“You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative,” he said, “or you can say no. We will remember.”