Donald Trump will address European leaders in Switzerland today after again refusing to rule out using military force to take Greenland.
“You’ll find out” was the ominous reply from the US president when asked how far he would go to wrest control of the Arctic island, during a long and rambling White House news conference on Tuesday.
Trump’s news conference as it happened
His presence at the World Economic Forum in Davos will provide an opportunity for face-to-face talks with European leaders, with “a lot of meetings scheduled” about Greenland, according to Mr Trump.
His overnight journey was disrupted by what the White House described as a minor electrical issue aboard Air Force One. The aircraft returned to Washington not long after take-off, so Mr Trump could board another plane.
Trump claims ‘things are going to work out’
Tuesday’s “surprise” press briefing, held to mark a year since he took office, comes at a time of unprecedented tension between the US and Europe, fuelled by Mr Trump’s desire to annex Greenland.
It is part of Denmark, an ally with which the US has a defensive pact, yet the president hasn’t ruled out seizing it by force and threatened tariffs on those who oppose his wishes.
Asked whether he would endanger NATO by going after an ally’s territory, Mr Trump doubled down on his belief that the US “needs” it.
“I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy, and where we’re going to be very happy,” he said.
“But we need it for security purposes, we need it for national security and even world security.”
Previewing the talks in snowy Davos, he claimed: “I think things are going to work out pretty well.”
NATO facing unprecedented division
So far, Mr Trump’s designs on Greenland have faced vocal opposition from his NATO allies, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Macron and Canada’s Mark Carney were among the leaders to defend Greenland and Denmark in speeches in Davos on Tuesday.
Several European nations have contributed troops to a reconnaissance mission in Greenland, but Mr Trump took it as a provocation.
In response, he threatened the countries with 10% tariffs from 1 February, raising to 25% from 1 June, unless the US is allowed to buy the territory.
Read more:
What Trump’s tariff threat means for Europe
Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. File pic: AP
Against this backdrop, British Defence Secretary John Healey will travel to Copenhagen on Wednesday to meet his Danish counterpart Troels Lund Poulsen.
“The UK has always played a leading role in securing NATO’s northern flank in the Baltic and High North, and we will continue to do so alongside our allies,” Mr Healey declared ahead of his trip.
While Mr Trump was positive when asked how he gets on with his British and French counterparts, he said Sir Keir and Mr Macron “get a little bit rough when I’m not around”.
“But when I’m around they treat me very nicely,” he added.
It comes after Mr Trump attacked Sir Keir’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, despite having backed it just last year.
Read more:
What is the Chagos deal?
Emmanuel Macron, left, and Sir Keir Starmer. Pic: Reuters
Trump covers all bases in rambling news conference
The president also used his White House briefing to address Venezuela, whose president Nicolas Maduro was abducted by the US in a raid on Caracas this month.
Mr Trump said his administration had taken 50 million barrels of oil out of the South American country so far, and that it would bring down prices in the US.
Maduro under arrest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
And he once again aired his grievances about not receiving a Nobel Peace Prize, saying he’d “lost a lot of respect for Norway” over the matter.
But most of the briefing was concerned with singing his own praises, darting from subject to subject for nearly two hours.
It was an “extraordinary inconsistent ramble… even by his standards” said Sky’s US correspondent Mark Stone.
“The right-wing US news networks stuck with it, but others moved on, skipping the monologue, dipping back only for the questions,” Stone said.
He continued: “I’d argue that his ramblings – today more than any day – are on a different level from what we saw with Biden.
“The numerous conservative policy achievements – job numbers up, immigration down, crime down – are lost behind the ramble.”
Trump offers ominous message on Greenland ahead of crunch talks with European leaders
