President Donald Trump lashed out at NATO Wednesday during his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland over its opposition to his threats to acquire Greenland – which he appeared to confuse with Iceland – while also reminiscing of when NATO’s secretary general once referred to him as “daddy.”
Trump argued the United States’ relationship with NATO to be a “one-way street,” citing the “trillions” of dollars the United States has paid as part of the alliance while complaining that European nations have opposed his efforts to acquire Greenland. He also argued that his efforts to end the Russo-Ukrainian war have gone unappreciated by the alliance, which he said “loved” him before he launched his campaign to acquire Greenland.
“They've got to get that war stopped because too many people are dying needlessly, too many souls are being lost,” Trump said, referring to the Russo-Ukrainian war.
“That's the only reason I'm interested in doing it, but in doing it I'm helping Europe, I'm helping NATO, [which] until the last few days when I told them about Iceland, they loved me! They called me daddy, right? A very smart man said 'he's our daddy.' I went from running it to being a 'terrible human being.' But now what I'm asking for is a piece of ice.”
Last June, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte infamously referred to Trump as “daddy” when lavishing praise on him over his efforts to bring about an end to Israel’s siege on Gaza. On Tuesday, Trump shared a private text exchange between him and Rutte in which the NATO secretary general appeared to support Trump’s efforts to acquire Greenland, writing that he was “committed to finding a way forward on Greenland.”