US President Donald Trump heads for Davos over Greenland takeover

US President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Davos on Wednesday for a confrontation with European leaders as his push to take over Greenland threatens to fracture the transatlantic alliance.

Trump whose trip to Davos was delayed after a “minor electrical issue” forced his presidential aircraft to return shortly after takeoff ridiculed European leaders a day before attending the World Economic Forum over the future of the autonomous Danish territory.

However, leaders assembled at the Swiss resort have united against Trump’s hardline position, with French President Emmanuel Macron pledging to resist “bullies” and Canada’s Mark Carney cautioning against a “rupture, not a transition” within the US-led global system.

That show of unity triggered a sharp response from Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who urged European leaders to “take a deep breath”.

“Do not have this reflexive anger that we’ve seen and this bitterness,” Bessent told journalists in Davos just hours before Trump’s expected arrival.

“Why don’t they sit down, wait for President Trump to get here and listen to his argument,” he said.

Trump, who was initially scheduled to address the annual meeting of global political and economic leaders at 2:30 pm (1330 GMT), is expected to arrive nearly three hours late in Davos, according to Bessent, after switching aircraft.

The US president said he plans to hold several meetings on Greenland while in Davos, as his ambitions regarding the vast island have opened the deepest divide between Washington and Europe in decades.

When asked how far he was willing to go to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a fellow NATO ally, Trump told reporters: “You’ll find out.”

Speaking as he departed the White House, the president admitted he had “no idea” how the Davos trip would unfold.

– ‘Rupture’ –

Trump has repeatedly argued that mineral-rich Greenland is crucial for US and NATO security against Russia and China as climate change opens Arctic routes and intensifies competition among global powers.

He has increased pressure by threatening tariffs of up to 25 percent on eight European nations supporting Denmark, prompting Europe to warn of retaliatory measures against the United States.

Trump brushed aside European threats to deploy a trade “bazooka” against Washington.

“Anything they do with us… all I have to do is meet it and it’s going to go ricocheting backward,” he said during an interview with News Nation.

“But we’re not looking into that. We’ll probably be able to work something out, possibly even during the next few days,” he added.

At Davos on Tuesday, Macron cautioned against US efforts to “subordinate Europe”, and condemned Trump’s tariff warnings as “unacceptable.”

France on Wednesday called for a NATO military exercise in Greenland, stating it “is ready to contribute to it”, according to Macron’s office.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also warned that Trump could drive relations between the United States and the European Union into a “downward spiral”.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney  who has worked to reduce Canada’s reliance on Washington since Trump suggested it become the 51st US state received a standing ovation at Davos for his remarks.

“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney said, referring to the US-led global governance system.

“Call it what it is: a system of intensifying great power rivalry where the most powerful pursue their interests using economic integration as coercion.”

In its briefing on Trump’s Davos address, the White House said the president intended to focus on the US economy amid a cost-of-living crisis that poses a challenge to Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

However, Trump’s forceful projection of US power on the global stage, one year into his second term, ensures Greenland will loom large during his speech.

Greenland’s prime minister said on Tuesday that the island’s population of just 57,000 must be prepared for the possibility of military force.

On Thursday, Trump is also expected to formally unveil the first charter of his proposed “Board of Peace,” an international conflict resolution body requiring a $1-billion fee for permanent membership.

The board was initially designed to supervise the reconstruction of Gaza, but a draft charter reviewed by AFP does not appear to restrict its mandate solely to the occupied Palestinian territory.