President Donald Trump launched a fresh blitz of messages aimed at NATO allies over his determination to take control of Denmark's Greenland territory, ratcheting up tensions with Greenlandic and European leaders just as he prepares to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
The escalating argument over the Arctic island has threatened to reignite a trade war with Europe and upend the NATO alliance that has underpinned Western security for decades. Trump is due to arrive in the Swiss Alpine ski resort town on Jan. 21 for the meeting of global elites from the worlds of business, government and culture.
Danish soldiers land at Greenland's Nuuk airport, on Jan. 19, 2026.
But ahead of that, in the early hours of Jan. 20, Trump unleashed a series of trolling Truth Social posts that took aim at French President Emmanuel Macron and what he characterized as Britain's "great stupidity" over its decision last year to cede the Indian Ocean-located Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which Trump linked to the Greenland issue.
Trump also posted a doctored image that showed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sitting in the White House's Oval Office next to a map showing Greenland and Canada as American territory. He posted a separate AI image with him planting an American flag on Greenland soil alongside Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Next to them, there is a sign that says, "US TERRITORY. EST 2026."
The message onslaught came as European Union leaders have said they are discussing a possible package of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports worth $108 billion after Trump announced tariffs over the weekend on imports from European allies who oppose his position on Greenland, which is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Trump has insisted he will "get" Greenland for the U.S., by force if necessary.
Denmark, like the U.S., is a NATO member, which means that both nations are theoretically covered by the same mutual-defense clause. It's not clear what would happen to NATO were the U.S. to take Greenland by force. However, European officials have said it would effectively mean the end of an alliance founded after World War II.
Trump says there is 'no going back' on Greenland
In one of his posts, Trump shared a message apparently sent to him from Macron that said, "I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland." French officials did not immediately respond to requests to confirm the authenticity of the message. The Reuters news agency reported it was genuine.
In a Facebook post, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said "Greenland is a democratic society with the right to make its own decisions. The latest statements from the U.S., including threats of tariffs, do not change that line. We will not let ourselves be pressured. We stand firm on dialogue, on respect and on international law."
Trump has been talking about wresting sovereignty over Greenland for months. His latest wave of comments follows a text message he sent to Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in which he linked his drive to take control of Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, saying he no longer thought "purely of Peace."
In Florida, after he attended the Indiana-Miami national college football championship, Trump said there was "no going back on Greenland," adding, "Let's put it this way: it's going to be an interesting Davos."
Chagos Islands was act of 'great stupidity,' Trump says
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in May while retaining control of a joint U.K.-U.S. military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. At the time, U.S. Secretary of State Marc Rubio said Trump had "expressed his support for this monumental achievement."
It's not clear why Trump has appeared to reverse his position on that. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In his Truth Social post, Trump said there's "no doubt China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness." Starmer's office said in a new statement that Britain's decision to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was the result of legal actions. Britain negotiated a 99-year lease on the military base.
Speaking in Davos, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was confident European governments won't "escalate" tensions with the U.S. over its aim to buy Greenland. "This will work out in a manner that ends up in a very good place for all," Bessent told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting.
