Key points from Donald Trump’s Davos speech
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Donald Trump took to the stage at Davos to address the World Economic Forum, where he covered a wide range of topics.
The US president opened his remarks by saying it was “great to be back in beautiful Davos” and address “so many respected business leaders, so many friends, a few enemies” but as he spoke, he took aim at Europe, Greenland and the UK.
Here are the key point’s from Trump’s more than 70-minute speech.
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Claims US won’t use force to take Greenland
Perhaps one of the biggest moments throughout the speech was Trump appearing to declare that the US “won’t use force” to take Greenland, despite saying his military would be “unstoppable”.
It was the first time the president appeared to formally rule out taking the territory through military intervention, after weeks of rising tension.
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force,” Mr Trump said.
“We would be, frankly, unstoppable, but I won’t do that.”
The US president then said everyone would be thankful because “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,” he added.
‘Without us, you’d all be speaking German’
Elaborating on why he thinks America deserves to acquire Greenland, Trump frequently referred back to the Second World War, saying the US successfully defended it after Denmark was invaded by Germany.
“We saved Greenland and successfully prevented our enemies from gaining a foothold in our hemisphere,” Trump said.
“After the war, which we won, we won it big. Without us, right now, you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese, perhaps.”
He added: “After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it. We gave it back, but how ungrateful are they now?”
America has ‘got nothing’ from NATO
Trump has been critical of NATO in the past, and his Davos speech was no different, in which he said the United States is “treated very unfairly” by the 32-nation alliance.
“When you think about it, nobody can dispute it,” he claimed.
“We give so much and we get so little in return, and I’ve been a critic of NATO for many years, and yet I’ve done more to help NATO than any other president by far.
“You wouldn’t have NATO if I didn’t get involved in my first term.”
US not looking to ‘destroy’ countries with tariffs
In his push for Greenland, Trump has threatened to slap more tariffs on European countries that are defending the territory and Denmark’s right to it.
He has said 10% tariffs would come into effect on 1 February for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland, unless the US could buy Greenland.
The rate would then climb to 25% on 1 June if no deal was in place, he warned earlier this month.
The prospect of further US tariffs on European countries over Greenland has been a source of huge discussion in recent days.
At Davos, the president said the US “wants to work with the countries” and that “we’re not looking to destroy them”.
During a separate part of the speech, Trump said Europe is “not recognisable”.
He said: “I don’t want to insult anybody and say ‘I don’t recognise it’, and that’s not in a positive way, that’s in a very negative way.
“I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction.”
Takes aim at UK over North Sea energy
When speaking about the use of green energy, Trump criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s policies on North Sea oil and gas.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has said the UK should be prioritising net zero by 2030 to limit climate change, rather than issuing new oil and gas-drilling licences.
The US president, who has repeatedly denounced what he calls the green energy “scam”, said the UK government had made it “impossible” for oil firms to exploit North Sea reserves.
“The United Kingdom produces just one third of the total energy from all sources that it did in 1999 – think of that, one-third – and they’re sitting on top of the North Sea, one of the greatest reserves anywhere in the world, but they don’t use it,” he said.
“That’s one reason why their energy has reached catastrophically low levels, with equally high prices.”
He went on to say that he “wants Europe to do great” as well as the UK, before reiterating “they don’t use… one of the greatest energy sources in the world”.
Canada should be ‘grateful’
At one stage Trump diverted his attention to Canada, and its prime minister, Mark Carney, who spoke at Davos on Tuesday.
In a direct dig at Carney’s speech, during which he called for “middle powers” to “act together”, Trump said Canada gets a lot of “freebies” from America, and it should be “grateful”.
“Canada lives because of the United States,” he said. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
Macron’s ‘beautiful sunglasses’
Turning to French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Trump first asked “what the hell” had happened to the leader to make him wear what the US president said were “beautiful sunglasses” during his Davos speech on Tuesday.
Mr Macron’s office said the French leader’s choice to wear the dark, reflective aviators during his speech, which took place indoors, was to protect his eyes because of a burst blood vessel.
Images of him went viral on social media, some comparing him to something out of the film Top Gun, as he used part of his speech to criticise Trump over Greenland.
But Trump crushed any hostilities towards Macron, adding: “I like him, I actually like him [that’s] hard to believe, isn’t it?”
