Trump’s Davos Speech Misstates Greenland History and NATO Contributions

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, President Trump rebuked European allies, reasserted ambitions to seize Greenland and made a series of claims about NATO and his record that The New York Times found misleading or false. On Greenland, Mr. Trump said, "After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark." That statement is misleading: he was likely referring to a World War II–era U.S.-Denmark arrangement that granted the United States rights to military bases in Greenland but did not transfer sovereignty.

The 1941 agreement was arranged by the Danish ambassador in Washington after the Nazi invasion; scholars quoted by The Times said the ambassador was effectively acting as a government in exile and that he gave base rights but did not "hand over the islands." The pact itself refers to Denmark as the island's "mother country" and reiterates U.S.

recognition of Danish sovereignty. In 1951 the United States again recognized Danish sovereignty in a military agreement that continued U.S. base rights. Mr. Trump also overstated NATO matters. He said members were not paying agreed shares and claimed credit for getting them to pay more; The Times reported that U.S.

payments to NATO's central budget fell from about 22 percent to 16 percent in 2019 and to 15 percent this month. NATO members pledged in 2014 to aim for 2 percent of G.D.P. for defense; only four countries met that threshold in 2016, eight by 2020, 18 in 2024 and 31 by 2025. While Mr.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Greenland, Nato, Denmark, World Economic Forum