Did the US give Greenland back to Denmark? Trump omits history at Davos
On Wednesday, United States President Donald Trump made clear to other world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, that he was unflinching in his demand to acquire Greenland, even as he said for the first time that he did not plan for the US to take the land by force. Trump, who talked up his tariff-based negotiation strategy, cited Greenland’s strategic position between the US, Russia and China as the main reason he wants to acquire the territory. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Retelling the US history with Greenland and Denmark, Trump said, during World War II, “we saved Greenland and successfully prevented our enemies from gaining a foothold in our hemisphere”. This much is accurate: After Germany invaded Denmark, the US assumed responsibility for Greenland’s defence and established a military presence on the island that remains today, albeit in diminished scope. But Trump overstepped when he said, after World War II, “we gave Greenland back to Denmark”. “All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland, where we already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago,” he said. Although the US defended Greenland during World War II, it never possessed the nation, and so could not have given it back. Experts have told PolitiFact that Greenland’s status as part of Denmark is not in question, and has not been for more than a century. Denmark’s colonisation of Greenland dates to the 1720s. In 1933, an international court settled a territorial dispute between Denmark and Norway, ruling that as of July 1931, Denmark “possessed a valid title to the sovereignty over all Greenland”. Advertisement After the 1945 approval of the United Nations Charter – the organisation’s founding document and the foundation of much of international law – Denmark incorporated Greenland through a constitutional amendment and gave it representation in the Danish Parliament in 1953. Denmark told the UN that any colonial-type status had ended; the UN General Assembly accepted this change in November 1954. The US was among the nations that voted to accept Greenland’s new status. Since then, Greenland has, incrementally but consistently, moved towards greater autonomy. Greenlandic political activists successfully pushed for and achieved home rule in 1979, which established its parliament. Today, Greenland is a district within the sovereign state of Denmark, with two elected representatives in Denmark’s Parliament. What about Iceland? Four times in the Davos speech, Trump referred to Iceland instead of Greenland. “Our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland,” Trump said. “So Iceland has already cost us a lot of money, but that dip is peanuts compared to what it’s gone up, and we have an unbelievable future.” US markets reacted negatively to Trump’s Greenland comments the day before his Davos speech, falling about 2 percent in value. But in recent weeks, Trump has said nothing about acquiring Iceland, an independent island nation with nearly 400,000 residents, located east of Greenland. In an X post following Trump’s Davos address, the White House press secretary criticised a reporter for posting that Trump “appeared to mix up Greenland and Iceland” several times. Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s “written remarks referred to Greenland as a ‘piece of ice’ because that’s what it is”. Although Trump did call Greenland a “very big piece of ice”, he also separately mentioned “Iceland”. Traditionally, Icelanders have maintained strong ties to the US, dating back to World War II, when Reykjavik invited US troops into the country. In 1949, Iceland became a founding member of NATO, and in 1951, the two countries signed a bilateral defence agreement that still stands. Its location – between the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans, a strategic naval choke point in the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap – means that Iceland, despite its lack of a standing military, is geographically important for both North America and Europe. In 2006, the US gave up its permanent troop presence at the Keflavík airbase – a 45-minute drive south of the capital, Reykjavik – but US troops still rotate through. Icelandic civilians now handle key NATO tasks such as submarine surveillance and operations at four radar sites on the nation’s periphery. Iceland also makes financial contributions to NATO trust funds and contributes a small number of technical and diplomatic personnel to NATO operations. Advertisement Trump’s pick for ambassador to Iceland, former Republican Congressman Billy Long, attracted criticism earlier this month when he was overheard saying Iceland should become a US state after Greenland, and that he would serve as governor. Long apologised during an interview with Arctic Today. “There was nothing serious about that. I was with some people, who I hadn’t met for three years, and they were kidding about Jeff Landry being governor of Greenland, and they started joking about me. And if anyone took offence to it, then I apologise,” Long told the publication. Trump has tapped Landry, Louisiana’s Republican governor, to be the US envoy to Greenland. Silja Bara R Omarsdottir, an international affairs professor who now serves as rector, or president, of the University of Iceland, told the Tampa Bay Times in August that newfound attention to Iceland’s security, including concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the rest of Europe, is “definitely very noticeable at the political level”. Multiple analysts in Iceland told the daily, only half-jokingly, that the key to surviving the Trump era has been to remain out of sight, something Greenland, for whatever reason, was unlucky enough not to be able to do. “You could say Icelandic policy towards the US has been to try to keep under the radar,” said Pia Elisabeth Hansson, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the University of Iceland. Adblock test (Why?)
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Trump snubs Canada by withdrawing country’s invite to join ‘most prestigious Board of Leaders ever’
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Canada was no longer welcome to his newly established Board of Peace. In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump rescinded Canada’s invitation, informing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that his country could no longer join the “most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled.” “Dear Prime Minister Carney: Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time,” Trump wrote. Trump unveiled the board during a speech and signing ceremony Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with leaders from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Central and Southeast Asia joining him on stage. TRUMP FLOATS ‘BOARD OF PEACE’ TO REPLACE UN, SIGNALS MAJOR GLOBAL POWER SHIFT The president’s rebuff came after he said Wednesday that the United States should control Greenland to build a large-scale “Golden Dome” missile defense system, which he said would also protect Canada, which he argued depends on U.S. security. “We’re building a Golden Dome that’s going to, just by its very nature, going to be defending Canada. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also,” Trump said during the forum in Davos. “But they’re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful. They should be grateful to us, Canada. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” he said, referring to remarks Carney made earlier this week. US TRADE REP SHRUGS OFF WORLD LEADERS’ SWIPES AT TRUMP AMID DAVOS BACKLASH While Carney did not mention Trump by name, he warned in his remarks that the rules-based international order is breaking down as “great powers” increasingly wield economic and security leverage to coerce allies. The prime minister argued that “middle powers” like Canada must heed the “wake-up call” that compliance does not guarantee safety, urging instead a strategy focused on diversification, collective action and respect for sovereignty. Trump said he will chair the new peace board, which will also feature senior political, diplomatic and business figures, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and billionaire Marc Rowan. The president has invited Russia, Belarus, France, Germany, Vietnam, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Greece, Israel and China, to join the board. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
Newly minted Virginia AG who fantasized about opponent’s family dying roasted over glaring typo
Newly sworn-in Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones drew swift online mockery Thursday after his office released a statement referring to him as “Attoney General,” an error that critics seized on as emblematic of his first major move in office. The error appeared in a graphic accompanying Jones’ announcement defending Virginia’s in-state tuition law for undocumented students. Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Jones’ predecessor, struck a lighter tone in a post that quickly gained traction online. “Go easy folks,” Miyares wrote on X with a screengrab of the faux-pas circled in red. “Perhaps someone on the staff was just saying ‘Hey, Tony’ in a Jersey accent?” JAY JONES OVERCOMES MOUNTING SCANDALS TO DEFEAT JASON MIYARES FOR VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL The Virginia GOP offered a sharper jab, saying it “took him a whole day to fix this,” suggesting the mistake lingered longer than it should have. The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) mocked both Jones’ error and the timing of the correction. “Jay Jones is struggling,” RNLA posted. “This time he moved so quickly to change the letterhead from his last embarrassment that he forgot how to spell his new title.” SPANBERGER TAKES SWIPE AT TRUMP ADMIN, SAYS VIRGINIANS WORRIED ABOUT ‘RECKLESSNESS COMING OUT OF WASHINGTON’ National Review senior editor Jim Geraghty argued the typo barely registered compared to Jones’ broader record. “The thing is, misspelling ‘attorney’ probably isn’t even in the worst 200 things that Jay Jones has ever sent electronically,” Geraghty quipped. Other users leaned into sarcasm, including one account that joked Jones was “the Valedictorian of the Quality Learing Center.” A newly updated post now sits on Jones’ official government X page, the graphic’s typo scrubbed. Jones began his term under heightened scrutiny after facing backlash on the campaign trail over resurfaced text messages where he fantasized about the death of political opponent House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children. Despite the controversy, Jones was elected in what was considered a blue wave election last November alongside Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger. The misspelling appeared to overshadow Jones’ announcement that he was moving to defend Virginia’s in-state tuition law, framing the decision as resistance to the Trump administration. “On day one, I promised Virginians I would fight back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on our Commonwealth, our institutions of higher education, and most importantly – our students,” Jones said in the release. “Virginians deserve leaders who will put them first, and that’s exactly what my office will continue to do.” Critics argued the optics of the typo undercut Jones’ message, with the error quickly becoming an easy target amid a contentious fight over in-state tuition and immigration policy. When reached by Fox News Digital, Jones’ office did not acknowledge the typo. “In his first week in office, Attorney General Jay Jones has gotten to work protecting the Commonwealth from Donald Trump’s actions that would raise costs on Virginia families and defending Virginians’ rights from the Trump administration’s attacks,” a spokesperson for the Attorney General wrote in an email to Fox News Digital. “He has acted quickly to block overreach and stand up for the people of Virginia. Attorney General Jones is already scoring wins on affordability and accountability while delivering real results for the Commonwealth.”
RNC eyes ‘America First’ midterm convention to boost Trump, GOP ahead of critical elections
FIRST ON FOX — The Republican National Committee (RNC) is taking a big step toward holding its first-ever midterm convention. The RNC on Thursday advanced a change to the party’s rules that would allow Chairman Joe Gruters “to convene a special ceremonial convention outside a presidential election cycle,” according to a memo shared first with Fox News Digital. National political conventions, where party delegates from around the country formally nominate their party’s presidential candidates, normally take place during presidential election years. But with Republicans aiming to protect their narrow control of the Senate and their razor-thin House majority in this year’s elections, President Donald Trump announced in September that the GOP would hold a convention ahead of the midterms “in order to show the great things we have done” since recapturing the White House. SHOWDOWN FOR THE HOUSE: DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS BRACE FOR HIGH-STAKES MIDTERM CLASH The new memo highlights “the possibility of an America First midterm convention-style gathering aligned with President Trump’s vision for energizing the party this fall.” The party in power, in this case the Republicans, normally faces stiff political headwinds in the midterms. And the hope among Trump and top Republicans is that a midterm convention would give the GOP a high-profile platform to showcase the president’s record and their congressional candidates running in the midterms. The RNC’s rules are based on holding a convention every four years. The proposed rule change will allow the RNC to hold a midterm convention. If adopted, the rule states that the convention must be called at least 60 days in advance, and no business would be conducted during the gathering. RNC CHAIR BETS ON ‘SECRET WEAPON’ TO DEFY MIDTERM HISTORY, PROTECT GOP MAJORITIES The proposed change was adopted Thursday evening by the RNC’s Rules Committee during the party’s winter meeting in Santa Barbara, California. It’s unclear if the full RNC membership will vote on the rule change when it gathers Friday at the confab’s general session. If the rule isn’t adopted by the full RNC, it’s expected to be approved at the party’s spring meeting. Gruters, in a statement to Fox News Digital, highlighted that the RNC’s winter meeting “shows how completely united Republicans are behind President Trump and our efforts to win the midterms. The RNC has been aggressively focused on expanding our war chest, turning out voters and protecting the ballot in this fall’s elections. We’re building the operation needed to protect our majorities and give President Trump a full four-year term with a Republican Congress.” Details on the date and location of the midterm convention will come at a later date and will likely be announced by the president. But a Republican source told Fox News Digital it’s probable the convention would be held at the same time as the RNC’s summer meeting, which typically occurs in August. The rival Democratic National Committee (DNC) may also hold a midterm convention. Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital last summer that DNC chair Ken Martin and other party leaders were quietly pushing the idea of a convention ahead of the midterms. Democrats held a handful of midterm conventions in the 1970s and 1980s.