‘No longer think purely of peace’: Trump’s astonishing message links Greenland threats to Nobel Prize snub
Monday, 19 January 2026
US President Donald Trump, in a message to Norway’s prime minister, said he no longer feels an “obligation to think purely of peace” after missing out on the Nobel Peace Prize, and that the Nato military alliance should facilitate a US annexation of Greenland.
The message, sent to Jonas Gahr Støre and obtained by PBS News after it was forwarded to multiple European ambassadors in Washington, reiterates Trump’s grievances about being overlooked for last year’s Nobel, and his repeated desire for the US to take control of the autonomous Danish territory in the Atlantic.
“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” he said in the message, referring to his contested claim that he has settled eight conflicts across the globe.
“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway,” the message continues.
“There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States.
“The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT.”
Over the weekend, Trump announced a 10% tariff on eight European countries for their opposition to the US taking control of Greenland.
Those countries – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland – said in an unusual joint statement that Trump’s threats “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral”.
It was also the most forceful rebuke of Trump from the European allies since he returned to the White House almost a year ago.
In recent months, Europeans have mostly opted for diplomacy and flattery around him, even when seeking an end to the war in Ukraine. Sunday’s statement, as well as some European countries sending troops to Greenland for a Danish military training exercise, appeared to be a step away from that strategy.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters in Oslo that a dialogue was opened with the US last week and “we will not give up on that … So we will stay on track — unless US decides differently”.
Added Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide at the same news conference: “We will not allow ourselves to be put under pressure, and those types of threats (of US tariffs) are unacceptable between close allies.”
Six of the countries targeted are part of the 27-member European Union, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trade.
Following emergency talks among the EU’s national envoys Sunday, EU Council President Antonio Costa said the bloc’s leaders agree “that tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and are incompatible with the EU-US trade agreement”.
They expressed “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion,” Costa said in a statement. He is expected to convene a summit of the bloc’s leaders later this week.
Solidarity with Denmark and Greenland
Trump’s Saturday announcement sets up a potentially dangerous test of US partnerships in Europe. He appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks over the status of Greenland, which he regards as critical to US national security.
Late Sunday, Trump posted on his social media platform that Nato has warned Denmark for two decades of the Russian threat to Greenland. He said Denmark hasn’t acted and “Now it is time, and it will be done!!!”
“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland,” the group said. “Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
There are immediate questions about how the White House could implement tariffs against the EU. It was unclear, too, how Trump could act under US law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a US Supreme Court challenge.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from divisions between the US and Europe. She added on social media: “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside Nato.”
Europe has been trying to keep Trump on its side to ensure US support for Ukraine, including Washington sharing intelligence with Kyiv and its involvement in security guarantees if a peace agreement is reached with Russia.
Rasmus Søndergaard, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, called Trump’s announcement “unprecedented” because tariff threats normally stem from trade disagreements, not territorial disputes between allies.
“That’s of course why we’re seeing the response from European countries saying ‘enough is enough,’” he told The Associated Press. “I think there’s in part probably a strategic calculation, of course, from the governments in these countries that if you give in to Trump on this, what will be the next thing? And at some point you have to sort of push back.”
Søndergaard also said Trump levelled the playing field for Europe with the tariff threat. Europeans cannot compete militarily, but the EU can wield an economic weapon through reciprocal tariffs.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote on social media Sunday that he’d spoken with Trump. Rutte has been criticised in recent days for largely sidestepping questions about Trump and Greenland and any Nato tensions over the island.
“We will continue working on this, and I look forward to seeing him in Davos later this week,” Rutte said.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also spoke to Trump and told him that “applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is wrong,” a Downing St spokeswoman said. That call followed conversations with Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Trump’s move was also panned domestically.
US Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, said Trump’s threatened tariffs on US allies would make Americans “pay more to try to get territory we don’t need”.
“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” Kelly said on social media. “The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”
Former US Vice President Mike Pence said he supports the United States ultimately owning Greenland, but not how Trump is trying to accomplish it.
He said he had concerns whether Trump had the constitutional authority to impose unilateral tariffs on Nato allies, as well as about a threat of a military invasion. Trump’s current position threatens “to fracture that strong relationship, not just with Denmark, but with all of our Nato allies,” Pence said on CNN.
Trump’s populist allies criticise the tariff threat
The tariff announcement also drew blowback from Trump’s populist allies in Europe.
Italy’s right-wing premier, Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Trump’s closest allies on the continent, said she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as “a mistake”.
The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, Meloni said, adding it was not a move against the US but aimed to provide security against “other actors” that she didn’t identify.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France and a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year’s tariff deal with the US, describing Trump’s threats as “commercial blackmail”.
Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britain’s main political parties — including the hard-right Reform UK party — all of whom criticised the tariff threat.
Also in London on Sunday, a heckler yelled “leave Greenland alone!” while Vanessa Williams sang The Star-Spangled Banner before an NBA game between Memphis and Orlando. The outburst drew scattered laughs and applause.
– with AP