DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump’s demands to take over Greenland are transforming this week’s annual gathering of the global elite into an emergency diplomatic summit, as European leaders prepared to use the president’s arrival here Wednesday to de-escalate the spiraling crisis.
In a flurry of posts on social media overnight, Trump provided an insight into his frame of mind ahead of the meetings — reiterating his desire for Greenland, criticizing Britain for handing over sovereignty of an island colony in the Indian Ocean and sharing what appeared to be private messages from European officials.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in one of the texts, tells Trump that they are aligned on Syria and Iran, but he does “not understand what you are doing on Greenland.” Macron also offered to set up a Group of Seven meeting after the Davos forum in the message, the authenticity of which was confirmed by a French official close to Macron who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
Europe may not have a home-field advantage in Davos. The United States is seeking to dominate this year’s World Economic Forum by sending its largest and most senior delegation in history. Meetings with senior Trump officials are among the most sought-after engagements in town as European leaders, already reeling from U.S. tariff policies, find themselves once again navigating a ruptured relationship with the White House. Over mulled wine and canapés, early-arriving guests tried to predict whether Trump’s visit would aggravate or avert the brewing conflict with Denmark, the NATO ally that controls Greenland.
In his posts, Trump also disparaged Britain for “planning to give away” the island of Diego Garcia, the site of a U.S. military base and the largest of the Chagos Islands. Britain in 2024 said it would cede sovereignty over the archipelago to Mauritius, with the U.S. and Britain retaining operational control over the base.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” Trump wrote, adding that “China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”
Defusing the tension is only one of the options that Europeans are considering. The other is harder pushback, and possibly retaliation, against Trump’s imposition of new tariffs on nations that oppose his desire for “complete and total control” of Greenland.
German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Monday that Germany remains open to dialogue with the U.S. but warned that Europe is preparing to respond. Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Klingbeil said, “Our hand is outstretched.” He said he plans to meet with American representatives in Davos.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said others are seeking an off-ramp from the dispute that would result in stronger Arctic security — an outcome that could satisfy one of Trump’s stated reasons for wanting Greenland.
“We’ll probably be somewhere between the two before this is defused,” said Stubb during an interview Monday with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. “And I of course hope that we can defuse the rather complicated situation here in Davos.”
The Trump administration clearly intends to make a splash in this snowy Alpine resort.
Shortly after his scheduled arrival Wednesday, the president is expected to address an audience of billionaire executives and foreign leaders. The next morning, he will convene a charter-signing ceremony with other world leaders who agree to join his “Board of Peace,” an initiative he announced last week as an international peace-building organization that would charge countries $1 billion for permanent membership, according to a person familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The U.S. is expected to send five Cabinet officials — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — as well as a group of advisers including Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and Josh Gruenbaum, who are focused on the Board of Peace.
While some world leaders have indicated plans to join the organization, others are still weighing the decision, partly out of concern that it could usurp the mission of the United Nations.
Trump and his allies have already transformed the scene in Davos. USA House, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding, has occupied storefronts on the town’s main promenade that in past years were used by tech companies to promote their latest artificial intelligence software. The main USA House venue is a 19th-century church with a sanctuary lit with red and blue lights, where Cabinet secretaries and ambassadors will speak all week to an audience sipping coffee from cups emblazoned with the American flag and an eagle.
The display of American power has made Trump an inescapable topic at an event historically known for billion-dollar dealmaking, expensive parties and wonky panels about multilateralism and free trade. It also reflects how dramatically he has upended the global order in the first year of his second term, captivating and alarming world leaders with an unpredictable, personality-driven style of diplomacy that leaves little room for dissent.
“The message is ‘America First’ does not mean America alone,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters outside the USA House on Monday afternoon. Bessent declined to say whether Trump hopes to avert the crisis over Greenland. “Everyone should take the president at his word,” he said.
Klingbeil, the German vice chancellor, stressed that Europe would not yield to pressure. He said the European Union is preparing joint countermeasures with its partners, including putting an existing customs agreement with the U.S. on hold and allowing European tariffs on U.S. goods to take effect.
And Denmark has sent additional troops to Greenland — a remarkable sign of the escalating tension with a long-standing ally.
“We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed,” Klingbeil said. “There will be a united and clear response from Europe.”
He also said he hopes for a show of solidarity from other American leaders. “The U.S. — that is more than Donald Trump,” Klingbeil said, noting that he has seen “very encouraging signs” from both Democratic and Republican politicians.
Others were more pessimistic. Julien Vaulpré, once a senior adviser to then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, declared flatly that the U.S. is no longer Europe’s ally as a result of the Greenland crisis.
“Europeans are frightened,” he said. “People are frightened because Ukraine is not that far. They are frightened because there seems to be no limits to the behavior of the U.S. president.”
Early Tuesday morning, Trump posted on social media that he had a “very good” phone call with Mark Rutte, secretary general of NATO, concerning Greenland.
“I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland,” Trump wrote. “As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back — On that, everyone agrees!”
Trump did not attend Davos as a businessman, but he has been the only sitting president since Bill Clinton to attend the event. At times, his message has seemed at odds with his brand of “America First” economics. The current conversation around Greenland — along with the recent military intervention in Venezuela and his ongoing threats to attack Iran — means this year will be no different.
Trump’s speech Wednesday is expected to include plans to make housing more affordable in the U.S. — a clear attempt to lean into his “America First” platform at a time when his foreign policy gambits are causing consternation among domestic supporters who are struggling with prices of housing and groceries.
He is expected to “emphasize that the United States and Europe must leave behind economic stagnation and the policies that caused it,” said a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the speech.
Davos is an unlikely backdrop for an affordability pitch. Trump will be making that case from a center of global wealth, where participants make deals on ski lifts and let loose at a piano bar run by a cybersecurity company. Davos, for 51 weeks each year, is a quiet resort town defined by skiing and hiking. This week, as one businessman said over gyros, it is like “Epcot meets the United Nations.”
Companies and foreign delegations have taken over the city center, with nearly every downtown storefront occupied by companies such as Meta and Palantir. Countries including Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Belgium have also set up shop, decorating commercial spaces with flags and inviting potential investors inside.
At the USA House on Sunday, staffers served cheeseburgers and steak tartare. Podcasters chatted with State Department officials. Keith Krach, the former DocuSign CEO, previewed work from a new organization commissioned by the Trump administration to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. Sarah B. Rogers, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, discussed her efforts to build relationships around the globe.
And even with tensions looming, all of it amounted to the hottest ticket in town — a distinction reserved in previous years for such private-sector luminaries as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. By Monday, there was a line on the ice-covered sidewalk to enter the USA House.
Ishaan Tharoor and Michael Birnbaum contributed to this report. Kate Brady in Berlin, Victoria Craw in London and Ellen Francis in Brussels contributed to this report.
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