Trump renews demand for Greenland at Davos; calls Denmark 'ungrateful'
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday reiterated his demand for control of Greenland in Davos, arguing that "no nation or...nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland, other than the US." "I was going to leave it out of the speech, but I think I would have been reviewed very negatively," he initially joked. He then said he did not want to use force to acquire Greenland but if he did, the US would be "unstoppable."
Trump
'We never asked fo anything'
"We never asked for anything, and we never got anything, 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. Explaining why the US wants Greenland, he said the country wants ownership of the island "because you need the ownership to defend it, you can't defend it on a lease."
Minister's response
Trump blasts Denmark
"All we want from Denmark for national and international security and to keep our very energetic and dangerous potential enemies at bay is this land on which we're going to build the greatest golden dome ever built," the president said, referring to his plans for a missile defense system. He then went on to blast Denmark, calling the nation "ungrateful" for refusing to give up the island.
Tariff criticism
Denmark fell to Germany after just six hours of fighting
"Denmark fell to Germany after just six hours of fighting and was totally unable to defend either itself or Greenland. So the United States was then compelled, and we did it," he said, appearing to regret the US's decision at the time to allow Denmark to retain Greenland. "How stupid were we to do that?" he said. "But we did it, but we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now?"
Position
Trump called for 'immediate negotiations' over Greenland
Trump called for "immediate negotiations" with European allies to discuss a potential US annexation of Greenland. "It's the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it," Trump said. "And that's the reason I'm seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States, just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history."