Trump to NATO Chief: Greenland matters more to US than Denmark

So, other than that, we're having the big meeting in a little while, and I'm going to relate my problems. Greenland is a big problem for us. And the other big problem is the fact that when we wanted them, we didn't want them badly, but we did say, if you want to join us, and they all said no. But when they could have, they weren't there for us, and we've been there for them. We spent over a trillion dollars over the last short period, trillion, in order to protect these countries from Russia. And it has nothing to do with us. We have an ocean, but it's been a long-term thing, and they haven't treated us right. And Mark understands that. He understands that. And we're going to work something out, I think, one way or the other. But we've been treated unfairly. We pay disproportionately. We had a time when we were paying 100 percent. We were paying 100 percent of NATO, and yet a lot of the countries weren't paying anything. But there was calls made a few weeks ago. I spoke with the U.K., and the prime minister said, well, we don't want to help you now, but we'll help you when the war is over. I said, that's not good. And likewise, I spoke to Germany. They didn't want to help. I spoke to France. They didn't want to help. Nobody wanted to help. Some of the very small countries wanted to help because they're the most vulnerable. That's the only reason they wanted to help. So I appreciate you being here. We're going to be going back together, many of us together. And again, I want to say, despite the fact that I'm very upset with NATO, that we pay far, far too much — billions and billions of dollars too much — because it's unfair, because we're protecting them. So we protect them, but they're not there for us. Think of it. It doesn't work. But I want to say, this is a great leader. They're lucky they have him. It's a very — it's their biggest asset. So, Mark, would you say a few words? Absolutely. And thank you so much, Mr. President, dear Donald. Let me start with Iran. We discussed this last night at the presidential palace. I think what you did — degrading the nuclear capability crucial for Israel, the region, for Europe, degrading the ballistic missile capability of Iran crucial for Israel, for the region, for Europe, for the whole world, and then trying to bring this to a peaceful end. They are attacking ships yesterday. I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary. It was a very strong response. And I'm with you on this. It's really important. When it comes to — when it comes to NATO, what you have achieved — and this is a huge win, and I just want to say this again — the last two years, Canada and European NATO nations spending $215 billion more in 2024 and 2025 to 2026 compared to 2024. This is staggering, 258 billion. In the meantime, almost 200,000 jobs in the U.S. being supported by all the investments by countries in the United States in the defense industrial base, buying from the defense industrial base, from the U.S. companies. So here you see there is a — you have been able to really get them to step up, to do this. And when it comes to Iran, I know you are disappointed. We discussed it a couple of weeks ago. I would say these are isolated cases. Five thousand planes taking off from European airports in support of Epic Fury. It was Europe as one big platform of power helping with Epic Fury, including countries you mentioned — Germany, France, and many others. We discussed the Bucharest airport, which was closed for a couple of days for commercial traffic because they needed it for Epic Fury. And the United Kingdom wouldn't let us use the island for two weeks, so we had to fly back. No, no, sir. I'm saying you're right. And Italy was very bad having to do with their bases, as you know, and a couple of others. But still, generally, five thousand is huge. And you mentioned Spain. Even you got Spain to pay 2 percent. They made a huge step in the last year, so there are still issues we have to solve. But hey, also even on Spain, I would say they got to the 2 percent. And I know you have a very strong relationship with the United Kingdom, with the king, but also you personally, always, with Geir Starmer, who is now leading office. He has now also committed to spend another 20 billion dollar extra, 15 billion pounds on defense. So I would argue, without you in this chair, this would not have happened. It is, of course, because of Russia, but also because of you. So grab to win. It's there. You did this. It was The Hague, and now they're implementing. And on Greenland, you and I made a deal in Davos. I will make sure that that deal is step by step being implemented, that you can deploy, if you want, the Golden Dome on Greenland. You have your trilateral talks. Mark was leading them from your side with the Greenlanders and the Danes, and it comes to if they will change their constitutional position in the Kingdom, et cetera. But it's The Hague. I mean, just so they understand, Greenland is very important for the United States, but it's not important for Denmark. In fact, when Denmark was overrun by the Nazis in less than one day, Hitler beat them out in one day, took over, and they asked us to take care of Greenland. In fact, we took Greenland, and then stupidly, we gave it back. We shouldn't have given it back to them, because we're the ones that need it. We need it for protection of the world, not just the United States. And it's very important. It doesn't help Denmark, but it helps us. And it's very important for us. And again, they were defeated very quickly. Denmark was beaten in one day, less than one day, by the Nazis, by Hitler. And when this happened, they immediately switched it over to us. We owned it. We had it. We were taking care of it, and then we gave it back, which is – I don't know why. I wouldn't have – I wouldn't have given the Panama Canal back either. You know, so what do I know? I certainly wouldn't have done that, because China is trying to take over the Panama Canal, and that's not going to happen. So – but I just – you know, it's interesting. I'm very unhappy with NATO, and yet this man is a great leader, and he gets it. He gets it. Gets it maybe better than some of the leaders. But also, your allies get things to you. That is important. I could not do this without you. It's too bad Biden didn't do it, or Obama. Hey, but you are here now. Obama. And you're entering 45, entering 47. In total, more than $1.2 trillion. I call this the drum trillion. No, it's true, but – $1.2 trillion was extra spent by Canada and the – And I'm not always blaming NATO. They're getting a – they got a free ride. And if Biden had any brain, which he didn't, he would have said, you got to pay more. And same with Obama. Two bad presidents. But they could have asked, and he would have done that too. It would have been – I mean, who knows? But who knows if they would have got up? And it should have happened years ago, and it couldn't. But Obama didn't do it, and Biden didn't do it, and frankly, Bush didn't do it either. But you did what Eisenhower started trying to do, equalize and do things. He tried. Eisenhower tried. And all the other presidents, none of them were successful. You're the first one. It's your win. You're winning the – That's why I like it. This is true. Without you, this would not have happened.