Trump trashes European leaders, leaks private texts amid Greenland grab

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Jan 20, 2026

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President Donald Trump trashed European allies Tuesday and bared leaders’ private text messages as he continues to aggressively push for a U.S. takeover of Greenland.

In a series of odd posts, Trump mocked European leaders and doubled down on his insistence that they cave to his demands for control of the Arctic island, which is a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

“Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back — On that, everyone agrees,” Trump wrote on his social media site.

He posted a fake image of himself joined by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio planting an American flag on the icy island along with a sign: “Greenland — U.S. Territory Est. 2026.”

Trump also posted screenshots of private messages sent by French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in a major violation of the usual code of trust among world leaders.

Macron sounded a conciliatory note on most issues in his message revealed by Trump, praising him for other global peacemaking efforts and inviting him to stop by in Paris for dinner.

But the French leader stuck to his guns on Greenland.

“I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” Macron said, although he followed it up with the plea: “Let us try to build great things.”

Rutte was even more fawning to Trump in his own “Dear Donald” missive, which Trump also posted on his social media site.

“I am committed to finding a way forward on Greenland,” Rutte wrote. “I can’t wait to see you.”

It wasn’t clear exactly why Trump posted the messages, although he may want to undercut the narrative that Europeans are furious at Trump over his Greenland saber-rattling, especially his new threat to impose higher tariffs on imports from countries that oppose his plans.

During a rambling, nearly two-hour news conference Tuesday, Trump questioned whether Macron would be in power for long and suggested he is not a key decision-maker on Greenland.

“Emmanuel is not going to be there very long,” he declared.

European leaders have warned that an American seizure of Greenland could lead to the collapse of the NATO alliance. The European Union is considering whether and how to respond to the tariffs threat.

The Greenland feud is casting a long shadow over the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump was set to jet to Davos later Tuesday and will speak there Wednesday.

“We prefer respect to bullies,” Macron said in his speech to the World Economic Forum on Tuesday. “Let’s not accept a global order which will be decided by those who claim to have, I would say, the bigger voice or the bigger stick.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also slammed the effort to grab Greenland and starkly warned the gathered elites that their relationship with the U.S. won’t be the same.

“Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumption that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security is no longer valid,” Carney said.

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