U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
President Donald Trump gave a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday where he repeated his claim that the U.S. must acquire Greenland.
Calling it nothing more than a "piece of ice," Trump insisted the island in the Arctic Ocean should belong to the U.S.
Here are the six wildest claims Trump made about Greenland in his speech to the forum:
1. Trump says he "wasn't going to talk about" Greenland before beginning his tangent.
After knocking Europe for not being as good as it once was, Trump said he wasn't going to talk about Greenland, but asked the audience if they wanted him to, prompting laughs from spectators.
"The fact is, no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States," Trump said.
The rambling speech included claim, "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 that "people thought I would use force" against Greenland. "But I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force."
2. Canadian prime minister Mark Carney apparently gets under Trump's skin.
Trump pivoted to criticizing Canada, saying that his so-called "Golden Dome" would need access to Greenland so that the U.S. can protect Canada.
Prime Minister Mark Carney appeared to get under Trump's skin with his Tuesday speech telling world leaders "compliance will not buy safety."
He referenced the U.S. by calling it among the “great powers," saying that it has started using economic integration as “weapons," with “tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited."
On Wednesday, Trump hit back: "Canada lives because of the U.S. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements."
"I watched your PM yesterday. He wasn't grateful," Trump said of Carney.
3. Trump wants credit for Israeli defense system.
Trump, at one point, said that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the missile defense system used by his country was U.S. technology.
"Bibi, stop taking credit for that dome," Trump demanded.
4. Trump reminisces about NATO's Secretary-General Mark Rutte calling him "Daddy."
Trump used the fact that someone referred to him as "Daddy" as justification for taking over Greenland.
"I'm helping NATO, and I've until the last few days when I told them about Iceland, they loved me they called me daddy, right?" Trump said. "Last time, a very smart man said 'He's our daddy. He's running it.' I was, like, running it."
"I went from running it to being a terrible human being," Trump continued. "But now what I'm asking for is a piece of ice, cold and poorly, located that can play a vital role in world peace and world protection. It's a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades."
5. Trump issues thinly-veiled threat to Denmark and NATO.
The U.S. president spoke about the undetectable planes that flew over Iran to deliver the bombs he used to try and destroy the country's nuclear program.
"So we want a piece of ice for world protection. And they won't give it," Trump said, referring to Denmark. "We've never asked for anything else, and we could have kept that piece of land and we didn't. So they have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember."
6. Trump appears to confuse Iceland with Greenland.
While Iceland and Greenland are two completely different islands, Trump appeared to confused them on Wednesday.
"So, with all of the money we expend, with all of the blood, sweat and tears, I don't know that they'd be there for us," he said of NATO. "They're not there for us on Iceland. That I can tell you. I mean, our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland. So, Iceland has already cost us a lot of money. But that dip is peanuts compared to what it's gone up."
He then promised that the stock market would be doubled "in a relatively short period of time because of everything that's happening."
CNN political reporter Aaron Blake notes that ahead of the speech, Trump told NewsNation that the reason America needs Greenland is that Russia and China are already in the region.
"It's located in such a place that is literally so important for national security. When you come to Russia, when you come to China, a lot of Chinese boats, a lot of, uh, Russian, you know, ships, military ships. It's in a location that is very important for our national security and also for the international security of the world, literally," Trump said.
"It's a very big piece of land. It's really cold, got a lot of ice on it, so it's not like we're gonna put — build a nice real estate development or anything," he added.