Trump: I won’t use force to take Greenland
Onto Nato, Trump says “we give so much, and we get so little in return.”
Trump says the US only gets “death, disruption, and massive amounts of cash [given] to people who don’t appreciate what we do.” – and he’s taking about both Nato and Europe generally.
Trump then points out Nato chief Mark Rutte in the audience – who this morning was complimentary about Trump’s pressure to raise military spending among Nato members.
Trump then appears to state that he won’t use force to obtain Greenland.
We won’t get anything unless I use excessive strength and force, when we would be unstoppable.
I won’t use force.
Trump then claims that the US has got “nothing out of Nato”, apart from protecting Europe from Russia.
[This is, frankly, offensive. Nato’s collective defence pledge, Article 5, has only been activated once, after 9/11].
And Trump then repeats his desire to acquire Greenland.
Key events
Jakub Krupa
Also worth mentioning, as I did the other day, that in 1916 the then US state secretary Robert Lensing issued a statement saying the US “will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.”
It was part of a broader deal in which the US and Denmark agreed to trade West Indies.
“In proceeding this day to the signature of the Convention respecting the cession of the Danish West-Indian Islands to the United States of America, the undersigned Secretary of State of the United States of America, duly authorized by his Government, has the honor to declare that the Government of the United States of America will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.
Robert Lansing.
New York, August 4, 1916”
Here are some more images of Trump at Davos:
We also get a lengthy riff about Trump’s negotiations with Switzerland over tariffs.
He warns that lower Swiss tariffs doesn’t mean they can’t go up – a great way to cheer his hosts.
And, is Trump feeling conscious about his age?
He remarks that while he doesn’t feel old, he is among the older members at Davos.
Fact check: Trump repeats baseless claim that the US ‘gave back’ Greenland to Denmark
Shrai Popat
Throughout his speech today, Donald Trump has repeated a baseless claim that the US returned Greenland to Denmark after the second world war.
“We already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago,” the president said.
It’s a common refrain from the president, but it’s worth noting that the United States has never owned the autonomous territory.
It’s been a part of the Kingdom of Denmark for centuries, a fact that is established under international law, and recognised by the US.
While the US did set up military bases in Greenland (via a wartime security agreement with Denmark) during the second world war, it didn’t confer any actual ownership.
In 1946, then-president Harry Truman secretly pitched to buy Greenland, but it was ultimately rejected by the Danish.
Trump then claims the US should have the lowest interest rates in the world – because “without us”, other countries would have nothing.
[Trump has something of a point here – US government debt is the ‘risk-free’ asset in the financial markets. America, with its control of the dollar, should never have to default.
However, long-term government bond yields also reflect market expectations for inflation, and thus interest rates].
He then hits out at investors for pushing down the stock market when there is great economic news, because they think interest rates will go up.
Trump says he wants to build ‘greatest Golden Dome ever built’ over Greenland
Jakub Krupa
Trump says that if there’s ever a nuclear war, “those missiles will be flying right over the centre of that piece of ice” (that’s Greenland) and he says he needs it to build “the greatest Golden Dome ever built.”
He also adds that the installation would also protect Canada, saying “Canada gets a lot of freebies from us,” saying it’s prime minister Mark Carney should be “grateful”.
There is also a random shout out to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling him not to claim credit for the Golden Dome technology, as it’s American.
Onto monetary policy, and Trump says he will annouce the identity of the next chair of the Federal Reserve very soon.
“He” will do a very good job, Trump predicts – meaning we can rule out half the US population from getting the top central banking job.
All the candidaters are great, they could all could do a fantastic job, Trump continues, before chucking an elbow at the incumbent, the “terrible chairman” Jerome “too late” Powell.
Trump talks about his plans to bring down the cost of living in America.
With a swipe at Joe Biden (a ‘horrible president’), Trump tells Davos he signed an executive order yesterday which tries to advance his effort to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.
He adds that he is calling on Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year.
This will help Americans save for a home, he says.
Trump then turns to Emmanuel Macron, questioning why the French president gave a speech yesterday in some rather natty sunglasses.
[reportedly, Macron has an eye infection]
“I actually like him, it’s hard to believe,” Trump jibes, before relating how he used the threat of tariffs to persude European countries to cut the cost of prescription drugs in the US.
And in a painful moment, Trump says you can say he’s brought down drug prices by 2,000%.
The fake news, he says, might only call it a 90% reduction, but that sounds “much worse”. [although more accurate].
Trump: We will remember if you say no over Greenland
Trump then gets the verbal thumbscrews out on the global elite, as he lobbies them to let him acquire Greenland.
Capturing the ‘art of the deal’, Trump tells the World Economic Forum:
You can say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember.
In a confusing moment, Trump blames “Iceland” for the drop on the US stock market yesterday.
Trump: not sure Nato would be there for us
We’re back on Greenland now – Trump says the island can play “a vital role in world peace and world protection”.
He insists it is “a very small ask”, compared to what the US has given Nato for many decades.
And he questions the commitment of fellow Nato members to the alliance, saying:
We’re there for Nato 100%, I’m not sure if they’d be there for us.
[except they were after 9/11, Donald].
Trump tells Davos that the Russia-Ukraine war has to stop.
He says he’s dealing with Vladimir Putin, “he wants to make a deal”.
He thinks Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who he will meet later today here in Davos – also wants to make a deal.
He says:
They’ve got to get that war stopped.
Trump: I won’t use force to take Greenland
Onto Nato, Trump says “we give so much, and we get so little in return.”
Trump says the US only gets “death, disruption, and massive amounts of cash [given] to people who don’t appreciate what we do.” – and he’s taking about both Nato and Europe generally.
Trump then points out Nato chief Mark Rutte in the audience – who this morning was complimentary about Trump’s pressure to raise military spending among Nato members.
Trump then appears to state that he won’t use force to obtain Greenland.
We won’t get anything unless I use excessive strength and force, when we would be unstoppable.
I won’t use force.
Trump then claims that the US has got “nothing out of Nato”, apart from protecting Europe from Russia.
[This is, frankly, offensive. Nato’s collective defence pledge, Article 5, has only been activated once, after 9/11].
And Trump then repeats his desire to acquire Greenland.
Trump: Seeking immediate negotiations for purchase of Greenland
Here we go: Trump then tells Davos that the US are seeking “immediate negotiations” to discuss the acquisition of Greenland.
[Reminder, Denmark has said the semi-autonomous island is not for sale].
Trump: US ‘takes great care’ about the people of Europe, but they are ‘destroying themselves’
Jakub Krupa
Trump says the US “takes great care” about the people Europe, mentioning his Scottish and German heritage within family, and says “we believe deeply in bonds we share with Europe as a civilisation.”
But, BUT, he says:
“That’s why issues like energy, trade, immigration and economic growth must be central concerns to anyone who wants to see a strong and united west, because Europe and those countries have to do their thing.
They have to get out of the culture that they’ve created over the last ten years.
It’s horrible what they’re doing to themselves. They’re destroying themselves. … We want strong allies, not seriously weakened ones.”
Trump: You’d be speaking German and Japanese without us
Onto the Greenland crisis – Trump says he wondered about dropping this from his speech (but it’s the issue everyone cares about).
He starts with a relatively conciliatory tone, saying:
I have tremendous respect for the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark.
But every Nato member has an obligation to defend their own territory.
No-one can secure Greenland apart from the US, he insists.
He says the world saw this in the second world war, when “Denmark fell to Germany after six hours of fighting”.
We were then compelled to send our own forces to hold the Greenland territory, at great cost and expense, Trump says, setting up military bases on this “big beautiful piece of ice”
And lurching into language popularised by England’s football fans, Trump tells WEF that America won the second world war.
Without us, you’d be speaking German and Japanese perhaps, he declares.
After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? How ungrateful are they now, Trump muses.
Donald Trump says “he wants the UK to do great”, before criticising Britain’s green energy strategy.
Joking that you’re “supposed to make money with energy, not lose it”, Trump is now banging on about how green energy is a fraud.
He’s criticising the decision to wind down drilling in the North Sea (part of the strategy to fight the climate emergency), saying companies have been put off from drilling through windfall taxes.
Trump then slips into a riff about China’s role in the green tech industry, saying you “never seen a wind farm in China” – they only build them as demonstrations to persuade ‘stupid people’ to buy them.
Onto Venezuela, and Trump mentions glibly that the US just picked up 50m barrels of Venezuelan oil (following the capture of its leader Nicolás Maduro).
[This is a controversial issue, though, as the oil was sold to a company whose senior oil trader donated to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.]
“Venezuela is going to do fantastically well,” Trump promises, saying it will quickly make more money than in the last 20 years.
