Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said President Trump wants to acquire Greenland to “prevent a conflict,” rather than becoming involved in a full-blown war after a foreign incursion.
Mr. Bessent said U.S. ownership of Greenland would deter other powers from intervening on the island in the first place.
Mr. Trump says Danish control of Greenland is not a big enough deterrent to countries such as China and Russia. He will lay out that case during meetings this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“He will get his message across, I believe,” Mr. Bessent told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo from Davos, adding that European leaders must “have an open mind.”
Mr. Bessent said the U.S. is trying to finalize a trade deal with the European Union despite upheaval over Mr. Trump’s latest threat to impose additional tariffs of 10% on eight European countries over their resistance to the Greenland plan.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking in Davos, said the EU-U.S. deal is still nearing completion.
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“When friends shake hands, it must mean something,” she said.
However, Ms. von der Leyen said Europe would be “unflinching, united and proportional” in its response to any trade crackdown over Greenland.
It is unclear whether Mr. Trump’s unilateral tariff powers will survive a challenge before the Supreme Court.
The justices will decide soon whether Mr. Trump overstepped his powers by invoking a 1977 law to impose nation-by-nation tariffs at the heart of his overseas trade deals.
Mr. Bessent said he is confident that Mr. Trump’s powers will remain intact.
“I think it’s very unlikely the Supreme Court is going to strike down a president’s signature economic policy,” he said.
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Mr. Bessent is making the rounds in Davos before Mr. Trump arrives and delivers a key speech on Wednesday. The emerging Greenland crisis is expected to dominate the meetings.
“Greenland is strategically important. It’s strategically important for his Golden Dome project to protect the U.S., and he’s invited Canada into that,” Mr. Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday. “They want to pay their share. And it is important that the U.S. has control of Greenland, and that will stop any kind of a kinetic war. So why not preempt the problem before it starts?”
