Analysis: By suddenly declaring a deal on Greenland, Trump demolished his case for owning it

By Mike Crawley 

U.S. president’s capitulation, along with contradictions in his Davos speech, revealed holes in his arguments

In a whiplash-inducing U-turn, U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly dropped his insistence on taking control of Greenland, mere hours after laying out at great length his rationale for ownership of the Arctic island.

For weeks, Trump stuck firmly to a take-it-or-leave-it position on Greenland, insisting that nothing short of the U.S. owning the Danish territory would address his national security concerns.

On Wednesday, Trump made a detailed case for U.S. control of the island during an hour-plus speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Then, barely four hours after leaving the stage, Trump demolished any shred of validity to his claims.

The president posted on social media that he “had formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region” as a result of a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that lasted less than an hour.

Who says Rome wasn’t built in a day?

While few specifics have emerged about the “framework,” it’s clear it does not include Denmark handing Greenland over to the U.S.

Trump also wrote that he will not impose the tariffs he had previously threatened to levy on Denmark and seven other European NATO allies who backed its refusal to give up Greenland by sending small contingents of troops to the Arctic island.

‘A lot of lies about the Arctic’

Trump’s capitulation on U.S. ownership followed his declaration during the Davos speech that he will not use military force to take control of Greenland.

Anders Vistisen, a Danish member of the European Parliament, says after ruling out military action, Trump’s remaining arguments for U.S. control were exposed as weak.

“All that’s left is false rhetoric and basically a lot of lies about the Arctic area and Greenland,”  Vistisen told CBC News Network in an interview after Trump’s speech, but before his social media post.

Vistisen said Trump “could not deliver on why he should have Greenland and what he needs it for.”

Henri-Paul Normandin, a former Canadian diplomat, says Trump must have realized Europe’s resolve in opposing his ambitions for Greenland and was left looking for a way to claim some sort of victory.

“Essentially, he is backing off to some extent because Europe is reacting so strongly,” Normandin told CBC News Network. 

Normandin says Europe has until recently been trying a strategy of appeasement with Trump.

“When you deal with a bully, whether it’s in the schoolyard or the international arena, if you’re bowing to his demands he will just go for more,” he said.

“This time around, Europe is saying, ‘Whoa, you’re about to cross a red line, that of sovereignty and territorial integrity.'”

Alan Leventhal, a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, says the U.S. has legitimate national security concerns related to Greenland, but all of them can be addressed through a long-standing military co-operation treaty.

“It gives us [Americans] the right to build many more bases across Greenland,” Leventhal told CBC News Network on Wednesday.

“What I don’t understand is this whole notion that we have to own Greenland in terms of getting the security arrangements we want,” Leventhal said.

Speech littered with contradictions

A catalogue of grievances about NATO seemed to underpin much of Trump’s demands for control of Greenland.

“The United States is treated very unfairly by NATO,” Trump said.

He said previous administrations had spent “trillions and trillions of dollars on NATO and gotten absolutely nothing in return. We’ve never asked for anything.”

Yet NATO’s collective defence provision — a clause that treats an attack against one member as an attack against all — has only been invoked once in the alliance’s 75-year history: after the al-Qaeda attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, against the U.S.

Denmark, the U.K. and Canada were among the many NATO members who contributed troops to the subsequent war in Afghanistan.

Trump’s speech was littered with such contradictions, revealing some of the holes in his arguments even before he caved on his push for ownership.

He minimized the significance of his demand for Greenland as “a very small ask” for a territory he dismissed as “a piece of ice,” yet maximized the importance of owning the Arctic island for U.S. national security.

He described Russia as a threat to Greenland, despite scant evidence that’s true, while downplaying the Russian threat to Europe, despite Vladimir Putin’s actual invasion of Ukraine.

And while he backed down from using military force to seize Greenland, he continued to threaten economic force to get his way.

There was also the veiled threat contained in what was arguably the most ominous line in Trump’s speech.

“You can say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember,” Trump said.

Later Wednesday, a reporter asked Trump what he meant, and what the consequences of saying no would be.

“You’ll have to figure that out for yourself,” Trump responded.

That exchange happened mere moments before Trump went into his meeting with the NATO secretary general that triggered his announcement of a deal.

Related stories from around the North: 

Canada: Greenlanders looking for Canadian support amid U.S. threats, Governor General says, CBC News

Denmark: EU chief promises ‘unflinching’ response to new tariffs as Trump trolls and threatens on social media, Reuters 

Finland: Finland to take part in NATO’s major Arctic-focused exercises in March, Yle News

Greenland: New Italy Arctic policy adds U.S. Greenland ambitions to growing Arctic competition narrative, Eye on the Arctic

Iceland: NATO chief to Arctic Allies: “We’re all frontline states now,” as Iceland’s role grows, Eye on the Arctic

Norway: “We want to be Europe’s most integrated region in terms of defence”, The Independent Barents Observer

Russia: Russia claims first-ever North Pole aerial refuelling, TASS reports, Reuters

Sweden: Swedish military intelligence on the great power rivalry over Greenland, Radio Sweden

United States: Trump lifts tariff threat and announces a ‘framework for a future deal’ on Greenland with NATO, The Associated Press