Greenland and NATO

At Davos, President Trump said he and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had reached a "framework" on Greenland and tied that understanding to his decision to back off threatened European tariffs. Rutte told reporters the talks focused on Arctic security rather than Danish sovereignty, but European allies, Denmark, Greenland's premier and NATO officials say they were blindsided, that the deal's terms are unclear, and that further bilateral talks will now be set up with participants, timing and details to be determined.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron used keynote speeches to warn that the post‑World War II rules‑based order is breaking down as great powers weaponize trade, finance and supply chains, leaving mid‑sized democracies more exposed. Their remarks came after weeks of provocative statements by President Donald Trump about possibly using military force to seize Greenland and imposing new tariffs on eight European countries, moves that have rattled markets and forced allies to question the reliability of U.S. security guarantees. Carney told delegates "we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition" and said economic integration is being turned into a coercive tool, while Macron described a "world without rules" where international law is trampled and only the law of the strongest prevails, in comments many in the room heard as aimed at Washington as well as Moscow and Beijing. When Trump took the stage a day later, he rejected that narrative, arguing that raw U.S. military and economic power, not verbal reassurances, are what keep alliances strong and insisting he wants a "strong" Europe even as he threatens new trade penalties. The unusually public divergence at Davos underscores how Trump’s Greenland ambitions, tariff brinkmanship and Gaza policy are deepening allied doubts about U.S. leadership at the very moment Western governments face rising authoritarian rivals and a fraying global security architecture.

A GOP bill would authorize annexation of Greenland — including a separate proposal by a Republican lawmaker to make Greenland the 51st state — while House Democrats, led by Rep. Gabe Amo (D‑R.I.), have introduced the "NO NATO for Purchase Act" to bar U.S. actions or spending to purchase a NATO member or NATO‑protected territory. Amo’s measure, backed by more than 20 Democratic co‑sponsors and framed as "Greenland is not for sale," is a direct response to renewed Republican talk of acquiring Greenland and follows diplomatic exchanges in which Danish officials said Copenhagen and Washington still disagree over Greenland’s long‑term security and control.