United States President Donald Trump has linked his push for control of Greenland and his tariff threats against European allies to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In a message to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, he wrote that he no longer feels obliged to think only of peace after the Norwegian Nobel Committee passed him over.
Trump complained that Norway did not award him the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, which went instead to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. He said he can now focus on what he considers good and proper for the United States, while still claiming peace remains a priority.
The president has intensified his demand for the U.S. to take control of Greenland from Denmark, arguing that Copenhagen cannot defend the island from Russia or China. He has questioned why Denmark has any right of ownership and claimed that global security requires complete and total U.S. control of the Arctic territory.
Trump has threatened a wave of rising tariffs from February 1 on Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Britain and Norway until Washington is allowed to buy Greenland. The dispute is straining NATO ties and has revived fears of a renewed trade war between the U.S. and the European Union.
EU leaders are preparing an emergency summit in Brussels to consider retaliatory measures. Options include activating a pre arranged package of tariffs on about 93 billion euros of U.S. imports or using the new Anti Coercion Instrument to restrict American access to EU public tenders, investment and service markets.
Norway’s Stoere has now adjusted his schedule to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Trump is also due and where a meeting between them is possible. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has likewise said he will try to meet Trump and warned that Europe can respond if faced with unreasonable tariffs.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post that the island should be allowed to decide its own future. He insisted Greenland would not bow to pressure and reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue, respect and international law.
The row has unsettled markets and business leaders who fear a repeat of last year’s tariff battles. European stocks and the dollar fell as investors shifted into safe haven assets amid concerns about NATO unity and the survival of recent EU U.S trade deals.