Sean Boynton
2026-01-20 21:16:00
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the world will soon “find out” how far he’ll go to acquire Greenland as European leaders vowed to respond to his territorial threats and warned of a rupture to the western alliance.
“How far are you willing to go to acquire Greenland?” a reporter asked Trump at a White House press briefing marking his first year in office.
“You’ll find out,” Trump replied, without elaborating further.
Trump spoke before travelling to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, where he said he has “a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland” with European officials. He’s scheduled to address the forum on Wednesday.
“I think things are going to work out pretty well actually,” he said about those meetings.
“I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy, and we’re going to be very happy, but we need it for security purposes. We need it for national security and even world security.”
Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out military action to take over Greenland, a move that polls suggest a large majority of Americans do not support and has been dismissed by some Republican lawmakers.
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European leaders already in Davos have been increasingly blunt in pushing back against Trump’s desire for Greenland and defending both the territory’s sovereignty and that of Denmark, which controls the Arctic island and is a NATO ally.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday criticized Trump’s announcement that, starting February, a 10 per cent tariff will be imposed on goods from eight European nations that have sent NATO troops to Greenland in recent days.
She vowed that the EU’s response “will be unflinching, united and proportional.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU could retaliate against the U.S. by deploying one of its most powerful economic tools, known as the anti-coercion instrument, which is also known colloquially as a “trade bazooka.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a statement Tuesday that “appeasement is always a sign of weakness” and that “Europe cannot afford to be weak — neither against its enemies, nor ally.”
In a major foreign policy speech centred on the need for middle powers like Canada to stand united against coercion and threats from “great powers” like the U.S., Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed Canada’s support for Greenland and Denmark as well.
“On Arctic sovereignty, we stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark and fully support their unique right to determine Greenland’s future. Our commitment to NATO’s Article 5 is unwavering,” he said.
“Canada strongly opposes tariffs over Greenland and calls for focused talks to achieve our shared objectives of security and prosperity in the Arctic.”
The leaders of Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly stressed the need for Greenland’s future to be decided by its people alone. Greenlanders have held mass protests in recent days against a future U.S. takeover.
Asked what gave the U.S. the right to take away Greenlanders’ right to self-determination, Trump told reporters: “When I speak to them, I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted to reporters in Davos that America’s relations with Europe “have never been closer” and urged trading partners to “take a deep breath.”
—with files from Global’s Uday Rana and the Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
