Did President Donald Trump Confuse Greenland and Iceland?
"Until the last few days, when I told them about Iceland, they loved me," said Trump.
Published Jan. 21 2026, 1:14 p.m. ET
The world is regretfully used to President Donald Trump's wayward speeches, and his latest public address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is another unfortunate display as Trump apparently confused Greenland and Iceland. The president wants to make Greenland a part of the United States, he claims for national security purposes.
Trump spoke at the event on Jan. 21, 2026, and in addition to confusing the two countries, he attacked NATO for apparently not loving him anymore. Naaja Nathanielsen is the minister for business and mineral resources in Greenland, and she hit the nail on the head when she said, "people are bewildered” about the president's obsession with the country, per CNBC, especially the people in Greenland.
"People are worried, people are afraid, people are bewildered," she said of the country's citizens.
Did Trump confuse Greenland and Iceland during his speech?
Yes, Trump confused Greenland with Iceland while addressing the world leaders, and he did so while complaining that NATO used to call him "Daddy," per CBS News.
"You need the ownership to defend it," he said. "You can't defend it on a lease. Number one, legally, it's not defensible in that way, totally. And psychologically, who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or a lease?"
That's when he complained about NATO and mixed up the two countries as he focused on who loved him.
"I'm helping NATO, and I've, until the last few days when I told them about Iceland, they loved me," he said. "They called me Daddy, right? Last time, a very smart man said, 'He's our Daddy. He's running it.' I was, like, running it."
"I went from running it to being a terrible human being," he complained. "But now, what I'm asking for is a piece of ice. ... It's a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades."
Greenland is a territory of Denmark and has its own elected government, and its proximity to the U.S., Europe, and Russia makes the territory desirable for both economic and defense reasons, as melting sea ice created new Arctic shipping routes.
Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede released a statement last December noting the country was not for sale.
"Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom," he wrote, per Reuters. "
Trump also claimed he wouldn't use military force to acquire the country, something he hadn't previously ruled out.
"We never ask for anything, and we never get anything," said Trump. "We 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. OK? Now everyone's saying, 'Oh, good.' 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. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland," he added.
"We've never asked for anything else, and we could have kept that piece of land and we didn't," he added. per NBC News. "So they have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no, and we will remember."