Thursday, January 22, 2026 - Despite his public threats about taking control of Greenland, including potentially by military force, President Donald Trump arrived in Davos on Wednesday looking to negotiate a deal that would give the U.S. more control over the Danish territory's security and in the broader Arctic region, a congressional official and two former U.S. officials told NBC News.
Trump dispatched senior U.S. officials to Davos ahead of
his trip to lay the groundwork for an agreement, the officials said.
Trump’s pressure campaign rattled longtime U.S. partners,
and his threat to impose tariffs on countries standing in his way on Greenland
escalated the clash into a transatlantic crisis.
He backed off that threat after meeting with NATO
Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday, saying in a Truth Social post that
he would not proceed with the tariffs and announcing the pair had agreed to the
“framework of a future deal” on Greenland.
Trump went into the meeting with the expectation that he
would announce a broad framework of a deal on Greenland, the congressional
official and one of the former U.S. officials said.
Negotiations on a deal are preliminary, and it’s not
clear the president will secure a final agreement or what that would entail.
Trump has mentioned possibly adding U.S. troops and more
military bases in Greenland, particularly with respect to supporting the Golden
Dome missile defense system, the two former U.S. officials said.
Trump said during his Davos address that he would not use
military force to acquire Greenland, a position he had privately conveyed to
his close advisers and with allies in advance, according to the congressional
official, the two former U.S. officials and a European diplomat.
“The private signaling to allies was that this wasn’t
going to be Venezuela,” the European diplomat said.
An increased NATO presence in the Arctic would send a
stronger message to China and Russia and support the Golden Dome missile
defense system, the European diplomat said.
Some of the president’s close advisers have tried to
persuade him in recent days against the idea of using military force to take
over Greenland, a current U.S. official, the congressional official and the two
former U.S. officials said.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine laid
out potential options for Trump and the impacts of using military force to
seize Greenland, and the president decided against it, the current U.S.
official and congressional official said. A spokesperson for Caine did not
respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
America’s NATO allies have also tried to convince Trump
that acquiring Greenland, particularly through military force, would hurt the
U.S. in part by shattering longtime alliances.
Denmark welcomed the news of the framework deal, but on
Thursday the country's prime minister insisted it can’t negotiate on its
sovereignty. A NATO spokesperson also stressed that Rutte did not propose any
compromise to sovereignty during his meeting with Trump in Davos on Wednesday.
Trump said Thursday that he was seeking “total access” to
Greenland and that the U.S. would get “everything we want at no cost.”
In an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump said “a
piece” of the Golden Dome system would be on Greenland. “It’s really being
negotiated now, the details of it, but essentially it’s total access. There’s
no end, there’s no time limit,” he said.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement,
“If this deal goes through, and President Trump is very hopeful it will, the
United States will be achieving all of its strategic goals with respect to
Greenland, at very little cost, forever. President Trump is proving once again
he’s the Dealmaker in Chief. As details are finalized by all parties involved,
they will be released accordingly.”
Trump told reporters before the meeting with Rutte that
he could see there being a reasonable price for Greenland, but did not say what
that figure could be.
NBC News has reported that Greenland could cost as much
as $700 billion to purchase.
In Trump’s speech at Davos, he set up a choice for
European leaders, telling the crowd that “we want a piece of ice for world
protection, and they won’t give it.”
“You can say yes and we will be appreciative,” Trump
said. “Or, say no and we will remember.”
The European diplomat said U.S. allies have been looking
for options that “would make Trump happy without selling Greenland.”
The official was hopeful Davos would offer an opportunity
for direct conversations with Trump on a path forward. “Everyone is looking for
an offramp, but I think only President Trump knows what that could be,” the
diplomat said
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