US President Donald Trump on January 21, 2026, addressed the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where his remarks on Greenland, NATO and global conflicts dominated discussions and overshadowed the forum’s economic agenda.
More than 3,000 delegates from over 130 countries including 64 heads of state and government are attending this year’s WEF.
However, Trump’s dramatic policy positions and confrontational tone quickly became the central focus of the gathering.
Greenland dominates Davos as Trump doubles down
Trump once again raised the prospect of the United States taking control of Greenland saying it could happen “the easy way or the hard way.”
He accused Denmark of being “ungrateful” and recalled the US military’s role in defending Greenland during World War II.
“We saved Greenland and successfully prevented our enemies from gaining a foothold in our hemisphere,” Trump said, adding that returning the territory to Denmark after the war had been a mistake.
Strategic case: rare earths, China, Russia and geography
The US president described Greenland as a vast and largely undeveloped territory located in a key strategic position between the United States, Russia and China.
He argued that its importance has grown due to the strategic value of rare earth minerals.
“That’s not the reason we need it, we need it for strategic national security and international security,” Trump said, claiming Greenland is part of North America and therefore “our territory” and a “core national security interest” of the United States.
NATO, Europe and the ‘ending wars’ complaint
Trump also used his speech to criticize US allies saying they did not appreciate America’s efforts in “ending wars” around the world. He complained about the cost to the US in terms of money and lives.
“What did the US get out of all of this work, other than death, destruction and massive amounts of cash?” he said, singling out NATO and Europe.
He added that the Russia-Ukraine war should be Europe’s responsibility because the US is geographically distant and again called on NATO members to increase their defence spending.
French President Emmanuel Macron responded by saying Europe prefers “respect to bullies” and rejected what he called “unacceptable” tariff threats.
Venezuela as the model: ‘More people should make deals’
Trump also praised Venezuela’s new leadership for making a deal with Washington following recent US intervention.
He said the US would split 50 million barrels of oil with Venezuela and bring in major oil companies predicting the country would soon be making more money.
“More people should do that,” he said, calling the Venezuelan leadership “very smart”.
A forum overshadowed by confrontation
While the WEF is meant to focus on global economic cooperation this year’s gathering has been dominated by controversy surrounding Trump’s remarks highlighting a more confrontational and transactional direction in US foreign policy.
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