Trump said on early Tuesday that he had a ’very good’ telephone call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte concerning Greenland.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store that he no longer feels obligated “to think purely of peace” in his bid for the United States to acquire the island of Greenland, a recognized territorial holding of the Kingdom of Denmark under international law.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote in a Jan. 18 text message to Store. He repeated his demand for U.S. control over Greenland.
“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China,” Trump said in the text message.
“The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”
The text message was forwarded to multiple European leaders as tensions over the issue heat up between the United States and the European Union.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
On Jan. 15, Machado gifted Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal during her visit to the White House. While the Nobel Committee has said the prizes are nontransferable, Trump has expressed the intention to keep the medal.
Store issued a statement on Jan. 19 restating Norway’s support for Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland and saying that the Nobel Peace Prize is presented by an independent committee, not the government.
“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter,” Store said in the statement.
When asked by reporters on the night of Jan. 19 whether the Nobel Prize influenced his thinking on Greenland, Trump said, “I don’t care about the Nobel Prize.”
“If anybody thinks that Norway doesn’t, doesn’t control the Nobel Prize, they’re just kidding. They have a board, but it’s controlled by Norway, and I don’t care what Norway says, but I really don’t care about that. What I care about is saving lives, and I think I’ve saved tens of millions of lives. ”
Trump also told reporters that the United States would talk about acquiring Greenland at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
By Kimberly Hayek and Joseph Lord
