By Robbie Gramer

President Trump insisted the U.S. needs to acquire Greenland for security reasons during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos on Wednesday. He said it was worth the "price of safety and security" for the U.S. and its allies to acquire Greenland and the U.S. would need the Arctic territory to bolster the president's "Golden Dome" national missile defense shield project. "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," Trump said.

Rutte, who has cultivated a close relationship with the president in spite of surging tensions between the U.S. and Europe over Greenland, praised Trump for pushing European allies to spend more on defense and insisted NATO members would come to Washington's aid if the U.S. were ever attacked, as the alliance did after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. "You can be assured, absolutely, if ever the U.S. will be under attack, your allies will be with you," Rutte said.

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January 21, 2026 13:57 ET (18:57 GMT)

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