https://apnews.com/article/trump-davos-housing-greenland-gaza-a2f3f4c18ba321c8025a3e208fc0ddf6DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — After first threatening another trade war and then hinting at an actual one to wrest control of Greenland away from Denmark, President Donald Trump Wednesday backed down from all his threats and claimed victory.Trump crowed about a “framework of a future deal” — reminiscent of his “concept of a plan” to solve the health care crisis — as sufficient to end a weekslong crisis of his own creation.“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,” Trump posted on his social media platform. “This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”Trump had announced he would levy 10% tariffs on all imports from Denmark and seven other NATO allies who held a joint exercise in Greenland after he began his latest round of bluster about the Arctic island. That tax, which like all U.S. tariffs would have been paid by Americans, was to have risen to 25% come June 1 if Denmark had not handed over Greenland by then.Trump has been obsessed with Greenland since his first term when he wanted to purchase it. In those years, he was surrounded by traditional Republicans, many with substantial military and foreign policy experience, who were able to talk him out of pressing the matter after Denmark showed no interest in giving up the semi-autonomous possession.
In this second term, however, Trump intentionally chose staff who uncritically support his every whim. Trump and top aide Stephen Miller have openly pushed a might-makes-right foreign policy that undoes decades of the post-World War II order that at least attempted to establish international rules and laws.Trump offered his view on that earlier Wednesday in a speech to the world leaders and business executives gathered in Davos, Switzerland, at the annual World Economic Forum. “Then after the war, which we won. We won it big. Without us right now, you’d all be speaking German and little Japanese, perhaps,” he said. “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 began mentioning Greenland again after winning the 2024 election and in the first weeks after taking office, typically in tandem with wanting to retake the Panama Canal. The chatter increased as Vice President JD Vance planned a trip to Greenland in March — but the trip itself deflated concerns when Vance was unable to arrange substantive meetings with local officials.The whole issue disappeared as Trump turned his attention to Iran and then Venezuela, and resurfaced after that operation successfully captured that country’s dictator and brought him back to the United States on drug trafficking charges. On Jan. 6, he told The New York Times, “we are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” setting off the two-week crisis that threatened to destroy NATO.While Trump had never specifically said he would use military force to seize Greenland, he had repeatedly refused to rule it out. He finally ruled out using the military in a speech upon arrival in Davos after flying overnight from Washington.
The backing-away from the tariffs came after a one-on-one meeting hours later with NATO’s Rutte, the one European leader who continues using flattery and praise to persuade Trump. That had been the consensus approach among European officials after Trump retook office a year ago, but many have abandoned it after it failed to keep Trump from ending U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia four years ago.French president Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and others attending Davos have been blunt in their criticism of Trump’s policies and particularly his attempt to grab Greenland.In his announcement, Trump said the agreement with NATO will help the U.S. build a massive missile defense shield for the entire United States but offered no details as to how that would work. It is also unclear what a new agreement would offer the United States that it cannot already do under a 1951 treaty with Denmark about U.S. military installations there.
