Trump tells European leaders they’d all be ‘talking German’ with out US – as he repeats Greenland calls for, however says he WON’T use drive
US President Donald Trump has told Europe they would all be speaking German ‘and a little Japanese’ without the US as he doubled down on his demands for Greenland but ruled out using force.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump claimed the US ‘won’ the Second World War while highlighting the importance of Greenland for American security.
He said: ‘After the war we gave Greenland back. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it. How ungrateful are they now?
‘So now our country and the world face greater risks than it ever did before because of weapons of warfare that I can’t even talk about.’
However he confirmed he will not use military force to acquire Greenland amid tensions between the US and Europe.
‘We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable,’ he said.
‘But I won’t do that. Okay. Now everyone says, oh, good.’
‘All the US is a asking for is a place called Greenland,’ he said. ‘You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember.’
The president continued to make his case that the US needs to control the island for the sake of national security
Trump ruled out using force to take the Arctic island
The president continued to make his case that the US needs to control the island for the sake of national security.
He said he wanted ‘full ownership’ of the Arctic island as opposed to a boosted agreement, saying: ‘All we’re asking for is to get Greenland, including right title and ownership, because you need the ownership to defend it. You can’t defend it on a lease.’
He said the US needs it for ‘strategic national security and international security’.
He mentioned how the US plans to build the ‘greatest golden dome ever built’ on the land in hopes of keeping ‘potential enemies at bay.’
In his speech, Trump reiterated his claim that NATO would not exist without him.
‘We give so much, and we get so little in return,’ he said. ‘You wouldn’t have NATO if I didn’t get involved in my first term.
‘Until I came along, NATO was only supposed to pay 2 percent of GDP. The United States was paying virtually 100 percent of NATO. I got NATO to pay 5 percent. They weren’t paying, and now they are paying.’
In his speech, Trump reiterated his claim that NATO would not exist without him.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, sits with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, third left, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, second left, as they listen to the address of President Donald Trump
He praised the ‘booming’ US economy, claiming ‘inflation has been defeated’ and America’s previous ‘open and dangerous border’ has been closed.
Meanwhile, ‘Europe is not heading in the right direction’, he said.
‘We can argue about it, but there’s no argument. Friends come back from different places – I don’t want to insult anybody – and say, I don’t recognise it. And that’s not in a positive way, that’s in a very negative way.
‘And I love Europe and I want to see Europe do good, but it’s not heading in the right direction.’
He said issues such as ‘energy, trade, immigration and economic growth must be central concerns to anyone who wants to see a strong and united West’.
He continued: ‘They have to get out of the culture that they’ve created over the last ten years. It’s horrible what they’re doing to themselves.
‘They’re destroying themselves. … We want strong allies, not seriously weakened ones.’
Despite his scathing words, Trump said he cares for the people of Europe
Despite his scathing words, Trump said he cares for the people of Europe, citing his own Scottish and German heritage within his family: ‘We believe deeply in bonds we share with Europe as a civilisation.’
He took particular aim at the UK during his speech, claiming Britain ‘produces just one third of the total energy from all sources that it did in 1999’.
‘Think of that? One third, and they’re sitting on top of the North Sea, one of the greatest reserves anywhere in the world, but they don’t use it.
‘That’s one reason why their energy has reached catastrophically low levels with equally high prices.’
He went on to say that he ‘wants Europe to do great’ as well as the UK, before repeating: ‘They don’t use… one of the greatest energy sources in the world.’
Meanwhile, the US is experiencing an ‘economic miracle’ under his presidency, he claimed, with economic growth that ‘perhaps no country has ever seen before’.
On NATO, Trump said: ‘We give so much, and we get so little in return.’
He added that the US only gets ‘death, disruption, and massive amounts of cash [given] to people who don’t appreciate what we do’.
