'None of This Is Normal': Trump Attacks Allies, Demands Control of Greenland in Rambling Davos Speech
"Our friends think we've gone insane and our enemies are celebrating."
President Donald Trump on Wednesday used his closely watched speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to threaten longtime US allies and once again demand control of Greenland, a performance that alarmed observers.
During his Davos address, the president took a shot at Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who on Tuesday made a case for creating a new system of international order outside of US hegemony.
"Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way," Trump said. "They should be grateful also but they're not. I watched your prime minister yesterday, he wasn't so grateful. But they should be grateful to us, Canada. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements."
Trump: "The Golden Dome is going to be defending Canada. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful but they're not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn't so grateful. But they should be grateful to us. Canada. Canada lives because of… pic.twitter.com/pL1F9nppbx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 21, 2026
Trump also once again falsely claimed that Greenland was a US territory, even though it has been recognized as a self-governing territory of Denmark for centuries.
"We need Greenland for strategic national security and international security," he said. "This enormous, unsecured island is actually part of North America on the northern frontier of the Western hemisphere. That's our territory. It is therefore a core national security interest of the United States of America."
Trump: "We need Greenland for strategic national security and international security. This enormous, unsecured island is actually part of North America on the northern frontier of the Western hemisphere. That's our territory." pic.twitter.com/PdAWZXdLAX
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) January 21, 2026
Although Trump claimed that he would not take Greenland by force during his speech, he still insisted that the US would take control of the territory, a demand the governments of both Denmark and Greenland have flatly rejected.
Journalist Spencer Ackerman warned mainstream news outlets to not emphasize Trump's claims to have ruled out starting a war to seize Greenland.
"If you're only reading headlines and see 'Trump Says He Won't Use Force' it will give you a misimpression of both how bellicose this speech is and how dug in he is on Greenland," Ackerman wrote on Bluesky.
MSNOW columnist Paul Waldman also chastised the media for not conveying the unhinged nature of the president's speech.
"Trump is giving a deranged, rambling monologue in Davos to an audience stunned into silence," Waldman wrote. "He sounds incredibly tired, his voice raspy; he keeps trailing off into long pauses. It's jaw-dropping. The sanewashing headlines are going to say 'Trump Doubles Down On Greenland Demand In Davos Speech.'"
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is also in Davos attending the World Economic Forum, was asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins if he noticed that Trump repeatedly misnamed the country he was demanding be given to the US during his address.
"Did it stand out to you that he said Iceland multiple times when he was talking about Greenland?" asked Collins.
Newsom indicated that it did stand out before noting that Trump also made an absurd claim about power-generating windmills costing $1,000 per rotation.
"A lot of stuff stands out," Newsom emphasized. "None of this is normal... It's really some jaw-dropping and remarkable statements that just, you know, fly in the face of facts and evidence."
COLLINS: Did it stand out to you that he said Iceland multiple times when he was talking about Greenland?
NEWSOM: And that every time a windmill turns it costs $1,000. A lot of stuff stands out. None of this is normal. There's a deviancy of consciousness. He's graded off the… pic.twitter.com/eIJmDWiKTn
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 21, 2026
Former Rep. Tom Malinkowski (D-NJ) said that Trump's belligerent address showed that Europe's attempts to appease the president for the last year have been a failure.
"I get why foreign leaders have tried to flatter Trump," he wrote. "But the problem is that flattery reinforces his delusions that what he's doing is working, that America is more respected, when in fact our friends think we've gone insane and our enemies are celebrating."
