United States President Donald Trump has said he would not take over Greenland by ​force, but he stuck firmly to his demand for control over the Danish territory during a speech in Davos, Switzerland. He also hinted at consequences if his ambitions were thwarted.

“People thought I ‌would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

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He announced afterwards on his Truth Social platform that he had arrived at a “framework of a future deal” with respect to claiming Greenland, after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

The details of that framework remain unknown, but Trump agreed to lift the tariffs he had threatened to slap on European allies starting February 1.

Here are the key takeaways from his Davos speech:

‘Would you like me to say a few words on Greenland?’

Trump opened his remarks about Greenland with an attempt at humour.

“I was going to leave it out of the speech, but I think I would have been reviewed very negatively,” he quipped.

After a lengthy critique of Denmark, which he claimed was too weak to protect Greenland, Trump repeated his key position on the territory.

“We need it for strategic national security and international security. This enormous, unsecured island is actually part of North America. That’s our territory,” he said.

Trump proceeded to assert that no nation other than the US can secure Greenland, and that it was therefore essential for European leaders to turn the self-governing island over to US control.

“I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again to discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States,” Trump said.

He proceeded to describe the NATO alliance as a money sink for the US, one that failed to offer the country any benefits.

“We never asked for anything, and we never got anything,” Trump said.

The president’s remarks failed to acknowledge NATO’s assistance after the attacks on September 11, 2001, when the US invoked the alliance’s collective defence clause and member states sent military air defence in response.

Still, Trump continued to portray NATO as a moot investment, one that would not yield benefits unless forced.

“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won’t do that,” he said.

“That’s probably the biggest statement I made 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.”

Earlier this month, White House officials said Trump was considering “a range of options” for acquiring Greenland, including military action. At Davos, Trump again issued a warning to Denmark, setting an ultimatum to hand over Greenland.

“We’ve never asked for anything else. And we could have kept that piece of land, and we didn’t. So they have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no, and we will remember,” he said.

Hours later, the US president announced the “framework” for a Greenland deal, though it is unclear to what extent Denmark or Greenland had input or what the deal might look like.

Rutte later told Fox News that the issue of Greenland’s sovereignty did not come up in their conversation.

Residential houses stand next to a fjord on January 21, 2026, in Nuuk, Greenland [Sean Gallup/Getty Images]

‘You follow us down, and you follow us up’

Speaking about the US economy and its global influence, Trump described the US as the driving force of global growth.

“The USA is the economic engine on the planet. And when America booms, the entire world booms. It’s been the history,” Trump said.

“When it goes bad, it goes bad,” he added. “You all follow us down, and you follow us up. And we’re at a point that we’ve never – I don’t believe we’ve ever been. I never thought we could do it this quickly.”

Trump, who returned to the White House for a second term in 2025, said he had expected economic improvements to take longer.

“My biggest surprise is I thought it would take more than a year, maybe like a year and one month. But it’s happened very quickly.”

He then turned his attention to Europe, offering a bleak assessment of the continent’s trajectory. Trump blamed the continent’s challenges on policies related to green energy and migration, without providing evidence to support the claim.

“Certain places in Europe are not recognisable, frankly, any more. They’re not recognisable,” Trump said, echoing anti-immigrant rhetoric.

“I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction.”

US President Donald Trump gestures during the 56th annual World Economic Forum [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

Tariffs and the trade deficit

Defending his prolific use of tariffs and other protectionist trade policies, Trump credited the measures with chipping away at the US’s trade deficit and boosting domestic production.

“With tariffs, we’ve radically reduced our ballooning trade deficit, which was the largest in world history. We were losing more than $1 trillion every single year, and it was just wasted. It was going to waste,” Trump said.

“But in one year, I slashed our monthly trade deficit by a staggering 77 percent. And all of this with no inflation, something everyone said could not be done,” he added.

Trump also pointed to what he described as gains in exports, manufacturing and industrial capacity as evidence of the policy’s success.

“During the process, we’ve made historic trade deals with partners covering 40 percent of all US trade, some of the greatest companies and countries in the world. We have countries as our partners, too. The European nations, Japan, South Korea, they’re our partners,” he said.

Trump on Venezuela: ‘Going to do fantastically well’

Speaking about Venezuela’s economy and oil sector, Trump said the country had suffered a sharp decline because of past policies under socialist leaders like Nicolas Maduro and the late Hugo Chavez.

But he forecast that the South American country is now poised for a rapid turnaround, driven in part by cooperation with the US and international energy companies.

Trump has taken an active interest in Venezuela’s governance since a January 3 military operation to abduct Maduro and transport him to the US to face criminal charges. He has since confirmed that the US has extracted 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela following Maduro’s ouster.

“Venezuela has been an amazing place for so many years, but then they went bad with their policies,” Trump said.

“Twenty years ago, it was a great country, and now it’s got problems. But we’re helping them. And those 50 million barrels, we’re going to be splitting up with them, and they’ll be making more money than they’ve made in a long time.”

Trump proceeded to praise the interim government of President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, for cooperating with his ambitions in Venezuela.

“Venezuela is going to do fantastically well,” Trump said.

“We appreciate all of the cooperation we’ve been given. We’ve been given great cooperation. Once the attack ended, the attack ended, and they said, ‘Let’s make a deal.’ More people should do that.”

He went on to predict a dramatic economic recovery for the oil-rich nation, citing renewed foreign investment and support from major energy firms.

“Venezuela is going to make more money in the next six months than they’ve made in the last 20 years,” he said.

“Every major oil company is coming in with us. It’s amazing. It’s a beautiful thing to see. The leadership of the country has been very good. They’ve been very, very smart.”

Onto the topic of energy

Trump then turned to energy policy, highlighting a shift in his stance on nuclear power and reiterating his longstanding criticism of renewable energy.

“We’re going heavy into nuclear. I was not a big fan because I didn’t like the risk, the danger, but the progress they’ve made with nuclear is unbelievable, and the safety progress they’ve made is incredible,” Trump said.

“We’re very much into the world of nuclear energy, and we can have it now at good prices and very, very safe.”

His statements follow a news release from the US Department of Energy on Tuesday that announced Trump would be “unleashing America’s next nuclear renaissance” by expanding infrastructure to create such energy.

Trump has also grown his personal business ties with private nuclear power firms. In December, the Trump Media and Technology Group, of which Trump is the majority owner, announced a $6bn merger with TAE Technologies, a fusion energy company.

While Trump has warmed to nuclear power, he doubled down on his opposition to green energy initiatives designed to combat climate change. Calling such efforts the “Green New Scam” – his spin on the “Green New Deal” – he blamed Europe’s economic wobbles on efforts to embrace renewable technology.

“There are windmills all over Europe. There are windmills all over the place, and they are losers. One thing I’ve noticed is that the more windmills a country has, the more money that country loses and the worse that country is doing,” he told his audience at Davos.

‘Canada should be grateful’

From his podium, Trump also responded to Tuesday’s remarks from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, Carney had encouraged world leaders to prepare for a future without US leadership and warned that the “great powers” of the world appeared to be abandoning “even the pretence of rules and values for the unhindered pursuit of their power”.

While Carney did not explicitly mention Trump, it was clear his remarks were aimed at the US leader. Trump replied more directly during his turn at the Davos podium.

“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us,” Trump said.

“They should be grateful. But they’re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

Trump says he is meeting Zelenskyy

Trump also spoke about the war in Ukraine, and his efforts to mediate between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“I’m dealing with President Putin, and he wants to make a deal,” Trump said.

“I believe I’m dealing with President Zelenskyy, and I think he wants to make a deal. I’m meeting him today. He might be in the audience right now.”

A post on Zelenskyy’s social media account, however, showed the Ukrainian leader at his presidential office in Kyiv on Wednesday, holding a meeting on the energy situation following Russian strikes. His office confirmed he is in Ukraine, not at Davos.

Still, Trump insisted that he would help navigate Ukraine and Russia to an end to their war, which began nearly four years ago in February 2022.

“They’ve got to get that war stopped. Because too many people are dying, needlessly dying. Too many souls are being lost. It’s the only reason I’m interested in doing it. But in doing it, I’m helping Europe. I’m helping NATO,” he said.

‘Those beautiful sunglasses’

At one point in his meandering speech, Trump stopped to poke fun at French President Emmanuel Macron, mocking the aviator sunglasses he wore to Davos.

“I watched him yesterday with those beautiful sunglasses. What the hell happened?” Trump asked.

Macron’s office said the choice to wear sunglasses during his speech, which took place indoors, was to protect his eyes because of a burst blood vessel.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum [Denis Balibouse/Reuters]