Trump calls Europe unrecognizable at WEF

A deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine is “reasonably close,” US President Donald Trump told the WEF in Davos.

“If they don’t get this done, they are stupid,” Trump said of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump wants to end the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for almost four years. He said he believes both leaders “want to make a deal,” although they have backed away from agreements over the past few months.

Trump said he would meet with Zelenskyy at Davos on Wednesday, but  the Ukrainian leader’s office said he is in Kyiv and not at the WEF.

The Kremlin said it expects a meeting between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff to take place in Moscow on Thursday.

President Donald Trump questioned whether NATO would back the United States if it called on the military alliance.

“We will be there for them a 100%, but I am not sure that they’d be there for us,” he said in his speech at the WEF.

“With all the money we have spent, with all the blood, sweat and tears, I don’t know that they’ll be there for us,” he said. “They are certainly not there for us on Iceland [he likely meant Greenland].”

He also questioned NATO’s commitment on Tuesday night ahead of his trip to Davos.

His assessment comes despite NATO’s collective defense agreement, known as Article 5, which states that an attack against one member shall be considered an attack against all. Article 5 has only been triggered once, after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the US, when all its allies positively responded.

The remarks also come as Trump is pushing for control of Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark, raising fears of a rift that could destabilize the alliance. 

US President Donald Trump ruled out acquiring Greenland through force.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, he said the United States never asked for anything from its allies.

“We probably won’t get anything unless I use excessive strength and force. We would be, frankly, unstoppable,” he said.

He added that he would not do that.

“People thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force, I don’t want to use force, I won’t use force,” Trump said.

“All the United States want is a place called Greenland,” he said, adding that the US needed the island to ensure US national security.

“You can say ‘yes,’ and we will be very appreciative,” the US president said. “Or you can say ‘no,’ and we will remember.”

Trump appeared to confuse Greenland and Iceland in his address at Davos.

After referring to Greenland as a “piece of ice” several times, the US president mentioned Iceland twice while talking about his plans to gain control of Greenland, a much larger island.

Iceland is an independent country between Greenland and the UK. Trump has not spoken before about wanting to take that particular island.

US President Donald Trump said Greenland is sitting “undefended in a key strategic security.”

“It is the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it and make it so it is good for Europe and safe for Europe and good for us,” Trump said.

He said he was seeking “immediate negotiations” to discuss acquiring the Danish territory of Greenland.

Denmark and Greenland’s leaders previously rejected Trump’s advances.

Trump said he had “tremendous respect” for the people of Greenland and Denmark, but added that no nation could defend Greenland other than the United States.

The 900-seat plenary hall where Donald Trump is addressing the World Economic Forum was full of people eager to hear what the US president has to say.

Many delegates who couldn’t enter the plenary hall are waiting on the staircases leading to the hall to catch a glimpse of the US president.

One can hear Trump’s voice playing on several of the smartphones and notebooks where the attendees are following the speech.

US President Donald Trump focused on changes he made to the US economic policy in the first part of his speech at the World Economic Forum.

He claimed a “miracle is taking place” in the US economy and  proclaimed his country was the world’s “economic engine.”

“When the United States go up, you follow,” he told the world leaders gathered at Davos.

US President Donald Trump says, “Europe is not heading in the right direction.”

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he blamed “unchecked migration” and “endless foreign imports.”

“Certain places in Europe are not recognizable anymore,” he said. 

US President Donald Trump has arrived at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, after a brief delay caused by an electrical issue on Air Force One.

The plane returned to Washington before Trump switched aircraft and continued his trip.

The White House says his late arrival will not affect his scheduled address to global leaders.

Trump’s speech is expected to focus on domestic policy, but may also touch on his controversial interest in Greenland and the recent US operation that ousted Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.

A White House official who spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One said he would also speak about his new “Board of Peace” that will oversee the rebuilding of Gaza.

 He’s also set for several bilateral meetings with world leaders.

Trump’s threats to take over Greenland and strained transatlantic ties are dominating this year’s World Economic Forum.

California Governor Gavin Newsom accused world leaders of being too soft on Trump. A US expert weighs in.

Donald Trump is about to deliver a speech at what he predicts will be an interesting meeting in Davos.

The main congress center, where he is expected to speak, is buzzing with anticipation. There is a sense of anxiousness, even confusion, about what the US president is going to say.

Trump’s influence on this year’s Davos is evident in the discussions taking place on the streets. People have been throwing around phrases such as “the changed global order” and “transatlantic strains.”

But most are hopeful that those strains can be ironed out amicably and that things won’t go downhill from here.

The United Nations is “under outright attack,” General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock warned.

“Since the beginning of this year, … it has become even more clear that we are not all singing from the same songbook anymore, and due to this, more and more member states hesitate when circumstances demand principled conviction,” Baerbock said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“The UN is not only under pressure, but under outright attack,” the former German foreign minister said.

Her statement comes as US President Donald Trump is expected to launch the charter for his new Board of Peace at Davos on Thursday.

The body, tasked by the UN with Gaza reconstruction, could expand its role to other conflicts — a move critics see as challenging the UN’s authority and one not covered by a UN resolution.

Baerbock urged nations to defend the international rules-based order, warning that global peace and economic stability depend on it.

“The vast majority of countries know that international peace is their life insurance policy and that global rules are also necessary for the success of their economies and development,” she said.

German news agency DPA reports that Trump’s flight delay makes it unlikely for the US president to keep his appointment with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday. The two leaders were due to meet for bilateral talks ahead of Trump’s speech in Davos.

DPA cited unnamed government sources on the matter, with Reuters carrying a similar report. 

Merz had said he hoped to talk with Trump on the sidelines at Davos on Wednesday, to discuss Greenland, tariff threats and the so-called Board of Peace the president is seeking to establish. 

Merz, who is already in Switzerland, is scheduled to address the World Economic Forum on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump arrived in Zurich, Switzerland, on route to the WEF forum with other world leaders in the Alpine village of Davos on Wednesday.

Trump’s usual presidential plane, Air Force One, was forced to make an unscheduled stop at a US base after developing an electrical issue and forcing him to switch planes, significantly delaying his arrival at Zurich.

He was set to speak at 2:30 p.m. (1330 GMT), but this will likely be pushed back.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, answering journalists’ questions in Davos on Wednesday, voiced concern over the current actions of the US, especially regarding President Trump’s designs on Greenland.

Asked if she viewed the US as an EU “ally” or an EU “adversary,” Lagarde simply said the US is “behaving very strangely” for an ally.

“When you are allies under the North Atlantic Treaty, when you have been allies for decades and have been part of each other’s history, threatening to seize territory that is clearly not for sale, such as Greenland, and waving tariff restrictions, and various other restrictions on international trade, is not really behaving like an ally,” she said.

Lagarde added that she hoped for some clarity on the issue, “once President Trump has redefined his position this afternoon.”

Lagarde’s sentiments were echoed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, with von der Leyen calling Trump’s threats of punitive tariffs a “mistake” and Costa saying his actions pose a grave threat to European prosperity and security.