United States President Donald Trump has doubled down on his bid to take over Greenland before his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, by slamming key allies.
Trump shared private text messages from French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO chief Mark Rutte and justified his aggressive posture over the Arctic island with a swipe at the United Kingdom’s decision to cede its last African colony to Mauritius.
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The US president’s flurry of Greenland-focused social media posts on Tuesday saw him accuse the UK of “GREAT STUPIDITY” for its decision to cede sovereignty over the Indian Ocean archipelago of Chagos, which is home to a key British-American military base on Diego Garcia atoll, to Mauritius.
The UK’s move followed Mauritius’s legal victory in a landmark decolonisation case at the International Court of Justice seven years ago after it had been strong-armed by the UK into selling the colonial territory for 3 million pounds (today worth $4m) in exchange for its independence in 1968. Under a bilateral deal signed in 2025, the UK retains control of the airbase on a long-term lease.
Trump, who had previously appeared to back the UK’s attempt to right what is widely perceived as a colonial wrong under the rules-based international order, lashed out at the UK’s “act of total weakness”, which he said would have been noted by China and Russia.
“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,” the US president posted. “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.”
A UK government spokesperson said in a statement: “We acted because the base on Diego Garcia was under threat after court decisions undermined our position and would have prevented it operating as intended in future.” The bilateral treaty has yet to be ratified by the UK Parliament.
Trump’s newly voiced opposition to the transfer of the archipelago will be applauded not only by right-wing opponents of the move in the UK but also by some Chagos islanders and their descendants who oppose the transfer of their homeland to Mauritius.
‘A dark chapter’
Trump’s fusillade came before his visit to the World Economic Forum on Wednesday as Europe weighs countermeasures after he promised to impose additional tariffs on eight European countries – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland – in a bid to pressure them over Greenland.
Under growing pressure from the belligerent Trump, Denmark sent additional troops to Greenland to bolster defences of the self-governed Danish territory, with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen insisting on Tuesday that her country would not negotiate on “sovereignty, identity, borders and democracy”.
Frederiksen told the Danish Parliament that Trump’s threats to take over Greenland were a “dark chapter”, but vowed that Europe would stand its ground in the face of the US President’s threats to slap tariffs on European countries opposing his territorial ambitions.
“As Europe, if anyone starts a trade war against us, which I really cannot recommend, we must of course respond. We are compelled to do so,” she said.
Keeping up the push, Trump posted a screenshot of a message from Macron, who offered to set up a Group of Seven meeting in Paris on Thursday afternoon to discuss disagreements over Greenland with the participation of Ukraine, Denmark, Syria and Russia on the sidelines.
“My friend, we are completely aligned on Syria. We can do great things in Iran. I don’t understand what you are doing in Greenland,” Macron said in his message, which was confirmed as authentic by a source close to Macron on Tuesday, according to the Reuters news agency.
Upping the ante, Trump threatened to hit French wine and champagne with 200 percent tariffs in an apparent bid to cajole a reluctant Macron into joining his “board of peace” initiative, which is being rolled out in Gaza with a view to expanding its remit to other conflicts, raising questions over the future role of the United Nations.
A source close to Macron said the French president intended to decline the invitation to join.
When asked about Macron’s stance on Monday, Trump replied: “Did he say that? Well, nobody wants him because he will be out of office very soon.”
“I’ll put a 200 percent tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join,” Trump was quoted by the news agency AFP as saying.
A source close to Macron, who must step down as president in 2027 because of term limits, told AFP on Tuesday that Trump’s threats to impose the tariffs were “unacceptable” and “ineffective”.
Setting the scene for Davos, Trump also reported on social media that he had “a very good telephone call” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and he had agreed to a meeting on Greenland.
“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!” he posted.
Later on Tuesday, Trump went on to post a screenshot of what he said was a text message from Rutte, who last year referred to the US president as “daddy”. The screenshot made a flattering offer to “highlight your work” in Syria, Gaza and Ukraine while highlighting NATO’s commitment to “finding a way forward on Greenland”.
‘We have to have it’
Trump’s posts on Tuesday also included a doctored image of him planting the US flag next to a sign reading “Greenland, US Territory, Est. 2026”.
Asked by reporters on Monday what he planned to say to European leaders in Davos about his Greenland plan, Trump said: “I don’t think they’re going to push back too much. Look, we have to have it.”
Earlier, he had linked his aggressive stance to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize he deeply coveted, telling Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace” in a text message released on Monday.
Store said he would change his schedule to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday and Thursday, overlapping with Trump’s planned appearance.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Trump’s planned tariffs over Greenland “a mistake especially between long-standing allies” and vowed that Europe’s response would be “unflinching, united and proportional”.
“Plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape,” said von der Leyen in a keynote speech at Davos.
She said that the European Union was working on a “massive European investment surge” in Greenland, pledging to “work with the United States and all partners on wider Arctic security”.
“This is clearly in our shared interest,” she said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would try to meet Trump on Wednesday, adding that a trade dispute was not wanted, but “if we are confronted with tariffs that we consider unreasonable, then we are capable of responding.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters in Davos it would be “very unwise” for European governments to retaliate.
“I think it’s a complete canard that the president will be doing this because of the Nobel Prize. The president is looking at Greenland as a strategic asset for the United States,” he said.
EU leaders are to convene in Brussels on Thursday evening for an emergency summit after Trump’s threats to impose new tariffs on six of its members.
