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President Donald Trump doubled down over the weekend on threats to acquire Greenland, saying he would place a 10% tariff on eight European countries that object to his plans and posting several times on social media.
Trump’s insistence that the United States gain control of the Arctic island from Denmark came just days before he was set to travel to Davos, Switzerland, to meet with other world leaders at the World Economic Forum.
“I had a very good telephone call with Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, concerning Greenland,” Trump posted at 12:26 a.m. Tuesday. “I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland. As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back — On that, everyone agrees!”
Trump posted an altered image of him showing a map to European leaders that had a version of the U.S. flag covering Canada, Greenland and Venezuela. He also posted a fabricated image of him planting the U.S. flag in Greenland and declaring it a territory with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio standing behind him. Both were published around 1 a.m.
Trump posted screenshots of text message conversations with Rutte, who pledged to find “a way forward on Greenland” as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, who told Trump that he does “not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” and asked to set up a dinner in Paris with other world leaders to discuss the issue this week.
Island of Diego Garcia
Trump posted to social media again around 1:38 a.m., this time criticizing the United Kingdom over its plans “to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.”
“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness. These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before,” Trump added. “The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.”
A BBC news article from September 2024, where one of its reporters was granted access to the island, notes that “Diego Garcia is one of about 60 islands that make up the Chagos Archipelago or British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot) – the last colony established by the UK by separating it from Mauritius in 1965. It is located about halfway between East Africa and Indonesia.”
The U.K. and U.S. originally signed a 50-year lease in 1966 that was later extended for 20 years and is set to end in 2036, according to the BBC article.
A U.S. military website states that access to “Diego Garcia is restricted, requiring area clearance by U.S. Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia.”
Tariffs, text messages, Nobel Peace Prize
Trump posted on social media Saturday that he would place a 10% tariff on goods coming into the United States from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom before increasing that to 25% in June if the countries continue to oppose his attempts to acquire Greenland.
Trump wrote the tariffs would stay in place “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre released a statement Monday that he and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb sent a text message to Trump to express their opposition to his tariff announcement.
“We pointed to the need to de-escalate and proposed a telephone conversation between Trump, Stubb and myself on the same day,” Støre wrote. “The response from Trump came shortly after the message was sent. It was his decision to share his message with other NATO leaders.”
Several news organizations, including PBS News reported that Trump sent a message to Støre stating that because he didn’t receive the Nobel Peace Prize he no longer feels “an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”
Støre wrote in his statement that he could confirm the text message conversation and reinforced that European leaders don’t believe the United States needs to acquire Greenland.
“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter,” Støre wrote. “We also support that NATO in a responsible way is taking steps to strengthen security and stability in the Arctic. As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to president Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government.”
By Jennifer Shutt, News From The States
