--- title: Trump Says He Will Not Use Force to Acquire Greenland description: It is the first time Trump has ruled out using military force to acquire Greenland, which he claims is vital for U.S. national security. canonical: https://time.com/7354286/trump-greenland-force-davos/ author: Richard Hall article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-01-21T14:36:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:49:02.607Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Says He Will Not Use Force to Acquire Greenland og:description: It is the first time Trump has ruled out using military force to acquire Greenland. og:url: https://time.com/7354286/trump-greenland-force-davos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4017aaaae9a9c1ac/6998ccfe1500fb0ff3aa6eda/AP26021510610073.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Switzerland Davos Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Says He Will Not Use Force to Acquire Greenland twitter:description: It is the first time Trump has ruled out using military force to acquire Greenland. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4017aaaae9a9c1ac/6998ccfe1500fb0ff3aa6eda/AP26021510610073.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Says He Will Not Use Force to Acquire Greenland  by [Richard Hall](https://time.com/author/richard-hall/)  ## Richard Hall Editor Jan 21, 2026 2:36 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. President Donald Trump speaks during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026.Markus Schreiber—Associated Press  by [Richard Hall](https://time.com/author/richard-hall/)  ## Richard Hall Editor Jan 21, 2026 2:36 PM UTC President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would not use force to [acquire Greenland](https://time.com/7353359/trump-greenland-annexation-no-going-back-united-kingdom-argument/), the first time he has ruled out using military action to acquire the territory. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump lamented that the United States “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,” he added. “That's probably the biggest statement I made, 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.” **Read more**: [_The Five Ways Europe Could Respond to Trump’s Greenland Threat_](https://time.com/7353681/greenland-trump-threat-europe-nato-response/) “All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland," he continued. The comments come amid a prolonged campaign by Trump to annex the island, which is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. That campaign has become increasingly confrontational in recent weeks, as Trump has insisted that [there was](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115925766187001811) "no going back” on his push to acquire Greenland, which he has insisted is essential for U.S. national security. In recent weeks, Trump has posted [a meme](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115925897257210763) showing pictures of the island draped in an American flag, and raised the example of the U.S. military's [removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro](https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-greenland-cuba-571aac35e259857fd512c46f5af11e4d) when discussing his designs on Greenland, prompting fears that he may use military action to seize the territory. Trump's aggressive posture prompted angst among European officials, and his appearance was preceded by a series of speeches condemning his ambitions to take the territory. On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron denounced what he described as a "new imperialism," without mentioning Trump by name. "We do prefer respect to bullies," Macron said. "And we do prefer rule of law to brutality." Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, similarly, did not say Trump's name, but announced that the "rules-based order is fading." "Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumption that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security is no longer valid," Carney said. Trump's pressure campaign over Greenland had ramped up ahead of Davos, escalating from words to action. Over the weekend, he announced [tariffs on eight European countries](https://time.com/7347120/greenland-trump-protests-tariffs/)—and NATO allies— for taking part in military exercises on the island. That in turn prompted threats of retaliatory economic measures from those countries, which were already subject to tariffs of 10% and 15%. European Union (E.U.) officials convened an emergency meeting to discuss a coordinated response. Some officials raised the prospect of abandoning the U.S.-E.U. trade deal struck last summer. The agreement includes $750 billion worth of energy purchases from the U.S., $600 billion in E.U. investment, and billions of dollars in reduced tariffs on imports from European countries. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned during her speech at the World Economic Forum that the E.U.’s response to the tariff threats will be “unflinching, united and proportional.” “In politics as in business—a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something,” von der Leyen said. _This is a developing story._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7354286/trump-greenland-force-davos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7354286/trump-greenland-force-davos/"},"headline":"Trump Says He Will Not Use Force to Acquire Greenland","datePublished":"2026-01-21T14:36:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-11T00:49:02.607Z","description":"It is the first time Trump has ruled out using military force to acquire Greenland, which he claims is vital for U.S. national security.","url":"https://time.com/7354286/trump-greenland-force-davos/","keywords":["Donald Trump","Davos","News","News Desk","Davos 2026"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4017aaaae9a9c1ac/6998ccfe1500fb0ff3aa6eda/AP26021510610073.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Hall","jobTitle":"Editor","url":"https://time.com/author/richard-hall/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4017aaaae9a9c1ac/6998ccfe1500fb0ff3aa6eda/AP26021510610073.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Switzerland Davos Trump","caption":"Switzerland Davos Trump","creditText":"Markus Schreiber—Associated Press","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7354286/trump-greenland-force-davos/","name":"Trump Says He Will Not Use Force to Acquire Greenland"}}]}] ```