Trump to address Davos as allies push back against his bid for Greenland

The president questioned whether other NATO members would come to the aid of the U.S. 

“The big fear I have with NATO is we spend tremendous amounts of money with NATO,” Mr. Trump said. “And I know we’ll come to their rescue, but I just really do question whether or not they’ll come to ours.”

Article 5 of the NATO charter says that an attack on one member of the alliance is treated as an attack on all. It has only been invoked once: in response to the 9/11 attacks, when European countries joined the U.S. in the war in Afghanistan.

Mr. Trump claimed that he has done “more for NATO than any other person alive or dead.”

The president added, “NATO has to treat us fairly, too.”

The president’s push for Greenland is only intensifying, with Mr. Trump saying he’ll impose heavy tariffs on countries that oppose his expansion plans. 

The president hasn’t ruled out the use of military force to acquire the semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and NATO allies are on edge, with some deploying military forces to Greenland for exercises that they say are meant to show their commitment to strengthening collective security. 

On Tuesday, European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Mr. Trump’s threat to levy tariffs on NATO allies over their stance on Greenland a “mistake” that risks sending U.S. and European relations into a “downward spiral.” 

Ahead of Davos, the president posted an AI-generated image showing him planting an American flag on Greenland, alongside Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

French President Emmanuel Macron joked in remarks at Davos Tuesday that it’s been a “time of peace, stability and predictablilty.” 

Though the French president did not mention Mr. Trump by name, he did say that last year had seen dozens of wars, and quipped, “I hear some of them have been settled” — likely a reference to Mr. Trump’s frequent claim of having ended eight wars last year.

But Macron also adopted a darker tone, saying that there has been a “shift toward autocracy” and lamenting that “conflict has become normalized.”

He warned, “It’s as well a shift towards a world without rules, where international law is trampled underfoot, and where the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest, and imperial ambitions are resurfacing.”

Before President Trump’s arrival in Davos, European leaders have been expressing strong opposition to Mr. Trump’s attempts to obtain Greenland, and the president has been berating some of the European leaders he’ll see there before he departs. 

He called the U.K.’s decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius — a deal his administration previously supported — an act of “great stupidity” and said it was another reason that the U.S. must control Greenland. He also posted a note from French President Emmanuel Macron that said, “I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland.” 

Shortly after taking off for Davos Tuesday night, Air Force One turned around and returned to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland due to what the White House called “a minor electrical issue.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the flight crew made the decision to turn back out of an abundance of caution.

President Trump switched to another aircraft and departed again shortly  after midnight.

By Faris Tanyos, Jennifer Jacobs