Tensions Over Greenland Strain US Alliances, World Order
US President Donald Trump isn't backing down on his idea of annexing Greenland to the United States. Stock markets are responding poorly. And as economic and diplomatic tensions rise, some leaders are questioning whether the entire world order has permanently changed.
Greenland Stands Firm as Trump Pushes Annexation Plan
REPORTER:
US President Donald Trump is doubling down on his plan to annex Greenland despite Greenlanders’ protests and a strong pushback from Europe. As economic and diplomatic tensions rise, the ongoing World Economic Forum in Switzerland could point to what’s next, not just for old alliances but for the whole world order.
Aviaq Brandt and Jens Kjeldsen raise Greenland’s flag outside the US Consulate in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. Every day this week, their small group of protesters will set off before dawn to this same spot to say no to US President Donald Trump’s plan to acquire their homeland.
Aviaq Brandt:
I'm here to put a flag, our flag, in front of the Consulate for United States to show Donald Trump and to show the world that the only flag that belongs in Greenland is our flag.
REPORTER:
This gathering, though small, reflects a broader groundswell of patriotism. Thousands of Greenlanders have already taken to the streets to say their island—a Danish territory—is not for sale.
And some European countries have backed Denmark's sovereignty by sending in troops, part of a Danish-led NATO military exercise.
But Trump isn’t backing down. He says the US needs Greenland for its security and that he thinks Greenlanders will be “thrilled” for their island to come under US control. His threat to put extra punitive tariffs on European countries opposed to his annexation plans is straining the NATO alliance and now bringing counter-threats from Europe and the freezing of a US-EU trade deal. But on Tuesday, before heading to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump told reporters he foresees a good outcome.
Donald Trump (US PRESIDENT):
We have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland. I'm leaving tonight, as you know, for Davos. And we have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland and I think things are going to work out pretty well actually.
REPORTER:
Outside the White House, not everyone shares that optimism. All three big Wall Street indexes ended well down Tuesday—and some market-watchers say Greenland, along with other moves by the Trump administration, is why.
Market Analyst:
So the potential for real decline and that's the big question right now. Are we at a moment that's a tipping point where the market says, enough. That's it. Greenland on the back of Maduro, immigration issues, Fed pressures, Gaza, a peace board where he's the chairman. Is this the moment?
REPORTER:
And US allies are firm about Greenland. Some allied leaders are simply holding their ground for now.
Emmanuel Macron (FRENCH PRESIDENT):
I think that’s what’s important: we must defend our principles, we must defend our interests without being aggressive — we are not — while making sure we are respected which is what we're doing. But without being intimidated either, and we will protect all our producers.
REPORTER:
But others are suggesting that the world order has now reached its breaking point, with whatever that might imply for future ties with powers like the US.
European Leader:
Of course, nostalgia is part of our human story but nostalgia will not bring back the old order. And playing for time – and hoping for things to revert soon – will not fix the structural dependencies we have.
Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme global integration. But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons. Tariffs as leverage.
REPORTER:
With tensions over Greenland testing old alliances, the talks that happen at this year’s World Economic Forum could be consequential—and, as some leaders say, point to whether the world order really is rupturing.
