Tipsheet

Will Trump Use Military Action to Seize Greenland? It Seems We Have Our Answer.

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  January 21, 2026 9:30 AM

President Trump’s outing to Davos for the World Economic Forum was not smooth. It was delayed after Air Force One was forced to turn back last night due to an electrical issue. After changing planes, the president landed in Switzerland around 12:40, their time. He addressed this gathering of the political elite, where Greenland, among other topics, has taken center stage.

Yesterday, Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, spoke about how Europe could defend itself without assistance from the United States. There’s been talk about Trump ending NATO should war break out over Greenland, a national security property for the United States, even though there is no NATO without us. A handful of troops from various European nations were deployed, seemingly as a precautionary measure. 

President Trump mocked it, adding that Denmark sent dog sleds to beef up security. Yesterday, during his marathon briefing, he told the press corps they would learn his plans for Greenland. The world can breathe a sigh of relief; he won’t be using military force (via Axios): 

President Trump reiterated his determination to take control of Greenland from Denmark during a combative speech at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday — but seemingly ruled out force to do so. 

Why it matters: European allies have been bracing for a clash with Trump over Greenland this week in the Swiss Alps. 

While there was some hope a market wobble could convince Trump to deescalate, he made very clear that wouldn't happen.

"It's the United States alone that can protect this giant piece of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it," Trump said, saying the U.S. was a "great power" and arguing Denmark simply wasn't. 

What they're saying: Trump said that if the U.S. decided to take Greenland by force it would be "unstoppable," but "I don't want to use force. I won't use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland." 

[…] 

Trump loomed over Davos long before he arrived on Wednesday, with allies lining up to declare a "rupture" in the U.S.-led world order and huddling to debate how to respond to Trump's latest threats. 

The hours leading up to Trump's speech saw a sell-off of U.S. assets sparked by Trump's threat to impose tariffs on allies if the U.S. isn't handed Greenland. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been urging countries not to retaliate against Trump's tariffs and on Wednesday dismissed a report that "Europeans would be selling US assets." 

The U.S.-Europe friction has been hard to miss at Davos. On Tuesday evening, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde reportedly walked out of a dinner during pugnacious remarks by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. 

NATO’s secretary general stressed the importance of protecting Greenland from Chinese and Russian encroachment. This isn’t some whacko issue, but one could argue that how Trump is handling it could be better. I couldn’t care less—I voted for this man three times, we’ve all been living in the Trump era for the past decade or so, you know how this all works. Everyone should be used to his personality, which hasn’t sown ruin, and be fluent in Trump speak.