Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2026
January 21, 2026
President Trump. Well, thank you very much. It's an honor to be with you, and I thank the media for being here. This—we've taken long trips, and this was a long one, but it's been working very well. We're having tremendous meetings with heads of state, with people of very big consequence, having to do with war and peace, which is why we're here.
And I just want to thank the Secretary General for being with us. We have a few things to discuss. It was a meeting I actually looked very forward to.
He's doing a fantastic job. We've been friends. We lifted the GDP from 2 percent to 5 percent together.
Secretary General Rutte. Yes.
President Trump. That was done jointly.
Secretary General Rutte. Yes. [Inaudible]
President Trump. And it worked out, really, very well.
Secretary General Rutte. Yes, sir.
President Trump. And we appreciate it, Mark.
So we'll be talking about various things. We'll be talking about Greenland. I imagine it may come up in our discussion.
And—but I think the trip has been amazing so far. It's been amazing.
As you know, we're staying, and tomorrow we're doing something else having to do with the Board of Peace. We're getting tremendous acceptance of that. It's going to be great. So we'll see how that all works out, but we're doing that tomorrow.
So thank you very much. Media, thank you very much. And, Mark, would you like to say something?
Secretary General Rutte. Yes, yes. Just briefly. I just want to say, again, as I did this morning when I was in a panel, I want to thank you again for what you did since coming in in January—Trump 47—basically, getting the Europeans and Canada to really step up.
And that led to the enormous success we had in the Hague with the 5 percent, which is crucial to defend ourselves and to also equalize with what the U.S. is paying. This was a problem already there since Eisenhower.
I always tell the Europeans you are completely committed to NATO, but there is also that one irritant, and it is this factor—that Europeans were not paying the same as U.S. was paying. And we solved it, and this is crucial also because we need the money to protect ourselves.
There is one thing I heard you say yesterday and today. You were not absolutely sure that Europeans would come to the rescue of the U.S. if you will be attacked. Let me tell you: They will. And they did in Afghanistan, as you know. For every American who paid the ultimate—for every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another NATO
country who did not come back to his family—from the Netherlands, from Denmark, and particularly from other countries.
So you can be assured, absolutely: If ever the U.S. will be under attack, your allies will be with you. Absolutely. There is absolute guarantee. I really want to tell you this, because it is important. It pains me if you think it is not.
And under your leadership, this alliance is stronger than ever. President Trump. Thank you very much. That's a great compliment. Any questions?
Denmark/Greenland
Q. Mr. President, the Danish Foreign Minister rejected your call to negotiate on Greenland. What will those——
President Trump. I didn't call him.
Q. No. Sorry. The Danish Foreign Minister rejected what you said in your speech, that you were hoping to negotiate to acquire Greenland, essentially saying that this is not something that they are willing to discuss. So what will those negotiations look like?
President Trump. Well, they didn't tell me that, so when they tell me—because I don't like getting it secondhand. If he wants to tell me, he'll tell me that to my face.
Q. And when will you be discussing this?
President Trump. I have no idea.
Q. When you said you would——
President Trump. I'll be discussing it with this man right here.
Q. Mr. President, when——
President Trump. He's frankly more important.
Greenland
Q. Mr. President, when you said you would remember if Denmark did not agree to deal on Greenland, what did you mean? What are the consequences?
President Trump. You'll have to figure that out for yourself. You're a smart guy.
President Trump's Interest in Acquiring Greenland
Q. Mr. President, do you see a price for Greenland that's reasonable?
President Trump. I could see that, yes. I could see that.
Arctic Security/Missile Defense
Q. What would that—how would you calculate that?
President Trump. I could see that. But there's a bigger price, and that's the price of—the price of safety and security and national security and international security having to do with many of your countries.
Secretary General Rutte. Mm-hmm.
President Trump. That's really the price, and that's the big price.
And, as you know, we're doing the Golden Dome. It's going to be very expensive. And it's better if we have Greenland than it is without. It's going to be safer, it's going to be stronger, it's going to be better for Europe, and it's going to be better for us.
And so, we'll see what happens. Any other question?
Greenland/Arctic Security/Critical Minerals
Q. Was—is it reassuring to hear the NATO Secretary General say NATO will defend the United States if it comes under attack?
President Trump. Well, I hope that that's true. I mean, he's a good man. He's never lied to me before. You know, we've had a good relationship, and he made that statement, and that's nice.
I just—you know, when I see what's happening with Greenland, I wonder, because I want Greenland for security. I don't want it for anything else. We have so much rare earth, we don't know what to do with it. We don't need it for anything else.
And in terms of Greenland, you know, you have to go 25 feet down through ice to get it. It's not—it's not something that a lot of people are going to do or want to do.
No, this is security we're talking about. And I can say one thing about Mark: He wants security, and he wants security for all of us. I think it's—you know, we're a member of NATO. He wants security for NATO and beyond.
So, when he says that, Steve [Steve A. Holland, Reuters], I think it's—you know, it's very nice. Okay?
Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.
[At this point, several reporters began asking questions at once.]
Q. Thank you, sir.
President Trump. Thank you. Thank you.
NOTE: The President spoke at 7:21 p.m. at the Davos Congress Center. In his remarks, he referred to Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Lokke Rasmussen of Denmark.
Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, Davos, Switzerland; Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Secretary General Rutte.
Locations: Davos, Switzerland.
Names: Rasmussen, Lars Lokke; Rutte, Mark.
Subjects: Arctic security, improvement efforts; Board of Peace; Critical minerals, supply chain improvements; Denmark, Minister for Foreign Affairs; Greenland, ownership and administration; Missile defense, modernization efforts; North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Switzerland, President Trump's visit.
DCPD Number: DCPD202600050.