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NATO boss Mark Rutte delivers brutal reality check to Donald Trump at Davos

Story by Kevin Schofield

Hoff Post, January 22, 2026

NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, delivered a brutal reality check to Donald Trump over his repeated claims that the military alliance would never come to America's aid if it was attacked.

The US president told the World Economic Forum in Davos “I’m not sure that they’d be there for us if we gave them the call” as he tried to rally support for his now-abandoned demand to take over Greenland from Denmark.

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He said: “I know them all very well. I’m not sure that they’d be there. I know we’d be there for them. I don’t know that they would be there for us.”

His misinformed claims, which he has made on numerous occasions, overlook the fact that Nato member countries suffered hundreds of deaths in the Afghanistan war, which was triggered by the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.

Britain alone lost 457 soldiers, with the likes of France, Germany, Italy and Denmark also suffering many deaths.

Rutte told Trump: ″There’s one thing I heard you say yesterday and today. You were not absolutely sure Europeans would come to the rescue of the US if you will be attacked. Let me tell you, they will and they did in Afghanistan.

“For every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another Nato country who did not come back to his family – from the Netherlands, from Denmark and particularly from other countries.

“So you can be assured, absolutely, if ever the United States was under attack, your allies will be with you. There is an absolute guarantee. I really want to tell you that because it pains me if you think it is not.”

In a remarkable climbdown in the wake of his meeting with Rutte, Trump announced that the pair had agreed “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland “and the entire Arctic Region”.

That means he has now dropped his threat take over the semi-autonomous territory, and ditched his threat to impose tariffs on the UK and seven other European nations for opposing him.

NATO boss Mark Rutte delivers brutal reality check to Donald Trump at Davos

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Related video: Trump says framework deal on Greenland will last 'forever' and 'gets ev

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Trump says U.S. 'alone' can protect Greenland but won't use force to take it

President Donald Trump said at the World Economic Forum that he is "seeking immediate negotiations" for the U.S. to acquire Greenland from Denmark.

'I won't use force': Trump doubles down on acquiring Greenland in Davos remarks

NBC, Jan. 21, 2026

By Peter Nicholas and Peter Alexander

DAVOS, Switzerland —

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is dropping his threat to slap new tariffs on European nations in a fresh sign that he is prepared to reach a peaceful settlement to a tense standoff over the future of Greenland.

Trump announced on social media that after a private meeting with NATO's secretary general in Davos, Switzerland, he agreed to the "framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region."

Trump gave no details, nor did he say he was abandoning his effort to wrest control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. Earlier Wednesday, Trump gave a speech at the World Economic Forum in which he said that the U.S. needs to absorb Greenland for global security reasons and that European countries need to meet the demand.

Senior administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, will lead the negotiations over Greenland's fate and report back to him, Trump wrote.

Financial markets spiked at the news that Trump was ditching the 10% tariffs he said he would impose on eight European countries — part of a pressure campaign to gain possession of Greenland.

For now, Trump seems intent on a negotiated resolution to the Greenland dispute. In his speech, he said he won’t use military force to acquire Greenland, though he left no doubt that he still wants the U.S. to play a dominant role in Greenland's future.

“You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember," the president told the audience of CEOs, politicians and diplomats.

He said that "we want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it. We’ve never asked for anything else.”

Trump’s appearance at the conference comes amid the biggest crisis within the NATO alliance in decades. Longtime Western allies have cautioned that the rules-based international order is fraying as America threatens the sovereignty of smaller nations. The day before at Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country Trump has also targeted, said that the geopolitical landscape is undergoing not a “transition,” but a “rupture.”

Trump made no apologies for his aggressive push to absorb Greenland, saying the U.S. needs the territory for the “Golden Dome” missile defense system and to deprive adversaries of a foothold in America’s own hemisphere.

Though the U.S. already has a military base on Greenland — and European allies said they’re open to an expanded American presence — Trump said that owning the island would provide more incentive for America to properly defend it. A lease agreement won’t suffice, said Trump, a former real estate magnate.

Trump told the audience that “psychologically, who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or a lease, which is a large piece of ice in the middle of the ocean, where if there is a war, much of the action will take place on that piece of ice. Think of it. Those missiles will be flying right over the center of that piece of ice.”

European leaders have sounded baffled and resentful over Trump's efforts to procure Greenland.

“I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote Trump in a private text message the U.S. president posted online this week.

In his speech, Trump laid out his rationale. NATO countries are obliged to defend themselves, and the U.S. is the only allied nation with the strength and resources to protect Greenland from hostile incursions, he said.

"It's the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it and make it so that it's good for Europe and safe for Europe and good for us," Trump said.

He pointed to history. During World War II, Germany overran Denmark, which proved unable to defend itself or Greenland, he said. U.S. forces stepped in and kept the territory out of Hitler's hands. Now, America wants Greenland back. Denmark's defiance ignores the sacrifices American soldiers made, he suggested.

"Without us, right now, you'd all be speaking German and a little Japanese, perhaps. After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it, but we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now?" Trump said.

The audience listened largely in silence, according to a press pool report. There was some light laughter in the room, along with “uncomfortable looks” on the part of some of the attendees.

Upon the president's arrival in Davos after an overnight flight from Washington, someone had written, “Trump Go Home” in the snow near his landing site.

Speaking for more than an hour, Trump at times sounded as if he were delivering a boilerplate campaign address to a home audience. He touted his work over the past year, mentioning that gas prices have dropped and many government “bureaucrats” have been fired, suggesting they're now working in jobs that pay better in the private sector.

He took a swipe at his predecessor, calling him “Sleepy Joe Biden,” and said that people would be prosecuted over the 2020 election that made Biden president. Trump contends the election was “rigged,” though there is no evidence of wrongdoing on a scale that would have reversed the outcome.

Before he was finished, he bashed windmills, boasted of his “landslide” election victory in 2024 and denigrated the nation of Somalia, as well as the Somali-born congresswoman from Minnesota, Democrat Ilhan Omar. On at least four occasions, he confused Greenland with Iceland.

Some of his most pointed comments were directed at traditional American allies. He questioned whether NATO would come to America’s aid in the event of a war.

“The problem with NATO is, we’ll be there for them 100%, but I’m not sure they’d be there for us,” he said.

(After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack, NATO invoked Article V for the first time in its history — a clause stating that the attack on one member was an attack on all.)

During a photo spray before his meeting with Trump, the NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, sought to dispel Trump's concern that the alliance would abandon the U.S. in wartime.

“You can be assured, absolutely, if ever U.S. will be under attack, your allies will be with you. Absolutely, there’s absolute guarantee,” Rutte told Trump. “I really want to tell you this because this is important. It pains me if you think it is not.”

“I hope that that’s true,” Trump said.

In his speech earlier in the day, Trump also had harsh words for Canada. He said that Canada “gets a lot of freebies from us,” but is not “grateful.”

“I watched your prime minister yesterday,” Trump said, in reference to Carney. “He wasn’t so grateful.”

Before Trump spoke, NBC News interviewed one of his favorite foils: California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, who is attending the conference. Trump name-checked Newsom during his speech, calling him a "good guy" who "I used to get along so great with."

Newsom, a potential presidential candidate in 2028, said of Trump’s tenure: “It’s an extraordinary wrecking ball presidency and administration. And people understand it here. There’s a deep understanding in the United States, the impacts are going to be outsized, the next five, 10, 15 years.”

Trump says U.S. 'alone' can protect Greenland but won't use force to take it

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Trump strikes Greenland deal

Story by Robert Mendick, Connor Stringer, Szu Ping Chan, and James Rothwell  

The Telegraph, January 21, 2026

Donald Trump announced on Wednesday night that he had struck a deal on the future of Greenland after talks with the head of Nato.

Mr Trump said he had agreed upon a “future framework” for Greenland and the “entire Arctic region” during a “very productive meeting” with Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary general.

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The US president dropped his threat of punitive 10 per cent trade tariffs on the UK and other European countries after announcing a “long-term deal” on Greenland. The European allies had refused to support his plan to annex Greenland.

The announcement came only hours after Mr Trump had demanded the immediate right to buy Greenland from Denmark during a meandering two-hour speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

He had berated European allies who had opposed his threat to seize Greenland, insisting that the US was owed the island in return for defeating the Nazis during the Second World War.

Mr Trump declined in a series of interviews on Wednesday night to explain the terms of the deal, but insisted it was “very long-term” and “infinite”.

He told reporters at Davos: “It’s a deal that people jumped at, really fantastic for the USA, gets everything we wanted, including especially real national security and international security.”

Mark Rutte, left, and Mr Trump both described their meeting as ‘very productive’ - Chip Somodevilla/Getty

He said an agreement was also being thrashed out on his “Golden Dome” project to place missiles on Greenland to protect the US from an attack by Russia.

Well-placed sources told The Telegraph that the proposed deal stopped short of the sale of Greenland to the US.

Instead, the framework agreed in Davos would allow the US to have sovereign control of military bases in parts of Greenland.

Related video: Trump says framework deal on Greenland will last 'forever' and 'gets everything we wanted' (The Associated Press) The Associated Press Trump says framework deal on Greenland will last 'forever' and 'gets everything we wanted'

In a proposal mimicking Britain’s agreement with Cyprus, the bases would be considered US soil.

It would allow the US to perform military operations, intelligence, and training, while also facilitating some local development, potentially including rare earth mining.

Mr Rutte said he had not discussed the key issue of Danish sovereignty over Greenland in his meeting with the US president.

“He’s very much focused on what do we need to do to make sure that that huge Arctic region, where change is taking place at the moment, where the Chinese and Russians are more and more active, how we can protect that,” he said in a televised interview with Fox News on Wednesday night.

In his surprise announcement on Truth Social, his social media platform, Mr Trump wrote: “Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the secretary general of Nato, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region.”

He went on: “Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland.”

Trump's Truth Social post

A Nato spokesman said that the meeting between Mr Rutte and Mr Trump “was very productive”, and negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the US would follow to ensure “that Russia and China never gain a foothold, economically or militarily, in Greenland”.

“Discussions among Nato allies on the framework the president referenced will focus on ensuring Arctic security through the collective efforts of the allies, especially the Arctic allies,” the statement continued.

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Denmark, which is not thought to have been involved in the discussions so far, declined to give its approval. But ⁠on ‍Wednesday, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Danish foreign minister, said ‌that he welcomed Mr Trump’s decision to withdraw the threat of tariffs.

European Union ⁠leaders will still proceed with an emergency summit on ‍Thursday, ‌which was called to co-ordinate a response to the president’s threats over the Arctic island.

Wall Street stocks rose sharply after Mr Trump reversed course on the threat of a trade war, recovering from steep declines earlier in the week.

Mr Trump’s announcement came in stark contrast to dire warnings issued during his much-anticipated speech at Davos. In it, he demanded immediate negotiations to buy Greenland and said Europe owed the island to America for saving the Continent in the Second World War.

The US president said he was “seeking immediate negotiations” to acquire the “big, beautiful piece of ice” and added that Washington would “remember” if Denmark said no.

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He called Denmark “ungrateful” for the protection that the US offered and told world leaders gathered at Davos that “without us, right now you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese perhaps.”

Mr Trump ruled out an invasion of the island but instead insisted he would buy it.

He said he would only accept “title and ownership” of the territory, not a lease agreement. “Who the hell wants to defend a licence agreement,” he added.

“We probably won’t get anything unless we use excessive force and strength,” Mr Trump said, before adding: “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

His speech marked a move away from military threats to a negotiated settlement for the island, which he said only the US could protect from Russia and China. That appeared to pave the way for the deal agreed with Mr Rutte.

NATO mission ‘on the back burner’

The Telegraph understands that Nato’s chiefs of defence staff in Europe had put plans for a military mission to Greenland on the back burner to allow for political tensions to subside.

While some allies had pushed for an immediate deployment to the region, military chiefs decided that a mission would risk political escalation.

Mr Trump’s speech came a day after European leaders hit back at US efforts to acquire Greenland, warning against bullying and greed of world powers.

Moments before Mr Trump took to the stage in Switzerland, Sir Keir Starmer told the House of Commons he would not “yield” to Mr Trump’s demands on Greenland.

Mr Trump said America had given so much to Nato but not received enough in return.

“All we’re asking for is Greenland … because you can’t defend it.

“If there is a war, much of the action will take place on that piece of ice. Those missiles will be flying over that piece of ice.”

Deal ‘will enhance security’

As he called for the transfer of the territory, Mr Trump reminded his audience of his surprise strike on Venezuela.

“No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States,” he said.

“What a great power, much greater than people even understand. I think they found out two weeks ago in Venezuela.”

Claiming that American presidents had tried to acquire Greenland for two centuries, the president said it would “not be a threat to Nato. This would greatly enhance the security of the entire alliance.”

By turns wheedling and threatening, he said that if America was granted Greenland, “we will be very appreciative” – but he warned that “we will remember” if the answer was no.

Mr Trump dwelt at length on the historical and military case for a transfer of ownership, in an apparent attempt to jolt negotiations in his favour.

NATO leaders had presented a united front in rejecting America’s absorption of the territory colonised by Denmark 300 years ago.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, had been among those most fiercely opposed and French officials had argued for the use of the EU’s “bazooka”, blocking US companies from the continent’s internal market. France’s reaction to the proposed deal had not been made on Wednesday night.

The government of Greenland had earlier in the day announced a “crisis” brochure for citizens amid the threat of a US takeover. The brochure recommends that citizens stockpile three litres of water per person for five days, and non-perishable food for the same amount of time.

Trump strikes Greenland deal

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NATO won't survive Trump administration: Denmark lawmaker

Story by Ellie Cook  

Newsweek, January 22 2026

NATO in its current form will not survive the three remaining years of President Donald Trump’s second administration, a Danish politician has said, as Europe and Canada brace to see the outcome of likely tense discussions in Switzerland on Wednesday.

When asked on Wednesday whether he believed the decades-old transatlantic alliance will weather the rest of Trump’s stretch in the Oval Office, Rasmus Jarlov, a member of Copenhagen’s parliament with the opposition conservative party and the chair of the defense committee, told Newsweek: “No, I don’t.”

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“I think NATO will exist, but Europe will not rely on NATO,” Jarlov said. “It’ll be a nice add-on.”

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email.

Trump and his most senior officials have shaken the very foundations of NATO by increasing their overtures toward Greenland, insisting the U.S. is the only country that should control the strategic Arctic territory to protect American national security and fend off any future Russian or Chinese influence.

Greenlandic leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen—as well as Danish officials—have insisted the island is not for sale and does not want to be controlled by the U.S. Greenland is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark. Copenhagen still directs its foreign and defense policy.

President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One after arriving at Zurich International Airport for the World Economic Forum, Wednesday, January 21, 2026, in Zurich, Switzerland.

Most worryingly for the rest of NATO, the White House had refused to take the possibility of military action off the table, although it has indicated it would prefer to reach some form of deal to acquire the vast, mostly ice-covered landmass.

But Trump, in a speech to world leaders in the Swiss town of Davos on Wednesday, said the U.S. would not use its military to seize Greenland, which would violate international law.

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“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force,” Trump said, calling the U.S. “frankly unstoppable.”

“But I won’t do that,” he added, while also calling Greenland “part of North America” and “our territory.”

Nielsen on Tuesday had warned Greenland must “be prepared” for any possibility, including an armed attack by the U.S. Denmark’s defense minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, played down the possibility of Danish troops battling American forces, saying earlier this month he still believed one NATO state would not attack another and it remained “hypothetical.”

“There is a probability of military fighting in Greenland,” Jarlov said, speaking ahead of Trump’s speech. “We still think it’s low, but we cannot rule it out completely when the Americans don’t rule it out.”

NATO was founded on the idea that an attack on one alliance country would be considered an attack on all, with member states obligated to respond in a way they see fit. The prospect of the U.S.—the most influential and powerful member of NATO—attacking territory belonging to a fellow alliance member has always been unfathomable.

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While NATO could still exist in name by early 2029, European countries will lean more on continental friendships and sidle closer to Canada, Jarlov said.

“It’s nice to have NATO, so, on a good day, you can hope that the Americans will come and help if Europe gets attacked, but we can’t be sure of it,” the Danish lawmaker said. “I don’t think NATO will ever come back to what it was before.”

“I don’t think NATO will be officially abolished, but, of course, it’s weakened so much already,” Jarlov added. “We can see now Denmark is under attack and we can see that our security guarantee is not NATO. It’s our friends in Europe.”

European countries are weighing their options for responding to tariffs Trump announced over the weekend he tied to their support of Nuuk and Copenhagen. The Republican said Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the U.K. would face a 10 percent tariff on goods imported into the U.S. from the start of next month, which would rise to 25 percent by early June. The economic measure will remain in force until “a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump said in a post to social media.

Trump said in Davos he was “seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.”

Trump had on Tuesday marked 365 days back in office, which the White House called the “most accomplished first year of any presidential term in modern history.” For Europe and Canada, the year has been marked by varying levels of anxiety over the U.S.’s pledges to NATO, and whether Washington could tear apart the alliance.

Update 01/21/26, 10:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated to indicate that the White House has been contacted for comment.

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