Trump demands Greenland in speech to world leaders: ‘It’s a very small ask’

President Donald Trump demanded control of Greenland during his speech to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The 79-year-old president pledged not to take the Danish territory by force but asked for control of the world’s largest island, which he insists is necessary to secure U.S. national security.

“But now what I’m asking for is a piece of ice, cold and poorly located, that can play a vital role in world peace and world protection,” Trump said. “It’s a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades. But the problem with NATO is that we’ll be there for them 100 percent, but I’m not sure that they’ll be there for us if we gave them the call. ‘Gentlemen, we are being attacked, we’re under attack by such-and-such a nation.’ I know them all very well, I’m not sure that they’d be there. I know we’d be there for them, I don’t know that they’d be there for us.”

NATO invoked Article 5 of its charter for the first and only time in its history on Sept. 12, 2001, and all 18 member nations agreed to support the U.S. response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and more than 4,800 service members from coalition countries were killed in Iraq and more than 3,500 were lost in Afghanistan.

“So with all of the money we expend, with all of the blood, sweat and tears, I don’t know that they’d be there for us,” Trump said, and then appeared to mix up the island he wanted to control. “They’re not there for us on Iceland, that I can tell you. I mean, our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland, so Iceland has already cost us a lot of money. But that dip is peanuts compared to what it’s gone up, and we have an unbelievable future in that stock. That stock market is going to be doubled. We’re going to hit 50,000 and that stock market’s going to double in a relatively short period of time because of everything that’s happening.”

The president then complained at length about defense spending by NATO and European nations before renewing his request for control of Greenland.

“So we want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Trump said. “We’ve never asked for anything else, and we could have kept that piece of land and we didn’t. So they have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember a strong and secure America means a strong NATO, and that’s one reason why I’m working every day to ensure our military is very powerful, our borders are very strong, and above all, our economy is strong because national security requires economic security and economic prosperity.”