‘We have to have it’: Trump sets out Greenland stance to European leaders and shares Macron text
Trump in jovial mood as he navigates questions on Greenlandpublished at 07:13 GMT
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Travelling with President Trump
I’ve just touched down on Air Force One at the conclusion of a four day trip to Florida, which ended with President Trump attending the Indiana-Miami national college football championship.
We did not see much of him at the game, although we did see him briefly in his box at the stadium with UFC President Dana White, his daughter Ivanka and several other family members. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also there.
We did, however, briefly catch up with him at Palm Beach International Airport, where he strode over to us alongside Secretary of the Interior Doug Bergum.
Trump was clearly in a jovial mood, and after greeting several family members came and dove right into praise for tonight’s players and the state of the economy, unprompted.
He was then peppered with questions, including several about Greenland.
“We have to have it,” he said. “They [Denmark] can’t protect it.”
He also claimed that Nato allies would not “push back too much” on his claim over the island and dismissed European deployments there as “not a military.”
“Nato has been warning Denmark for 20 years now…they’ve been warning Denmark about the Russian threat,” he said. “It’s not only Russia, it’s also China.”
“We’ll see what happens,” he added. “Let’s put it this way: it’s going to be an interesting Davos.”
