US President Donald Trump appeared to mix up Greenland and Iceland multiple times during a speech to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday (Jan. 21), sparking widespread attention and social media commentary. The White House denied any confusion on the president’s part.
The 79-year-old Republican has previously expressed interest in the United States acquiring Greenland, a Danish territory, citing strategic concerns about Russia and China in the Arctic. During his speech, Trump announced a “framework” for a future Greenland deal and the cancellation of planned tariffs on European nations that opposed his previous efforts—moves that had already stirred tension among NATO allies.
In his remarks, Trump repeatedly said, “I’m helping NATO, and until the last few days, when I told them about Iceland, they loved me… They’re not there for us on Iceland… our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland.” Observers noted that he clearly meant Greenland, not the smaller, volcanic island nation of Iceland.
Following the speech, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded on X to a journalist pointing out the mix-up. She stated, “No he didn’t, Libby. His written remarks referred to Greenland as a ‘piece of ice’ because that’s what it is. You’re the only one mixing anything up here.” (Leavitt also misspelled the journalist’s name in the post.)
As usual, Trump strayed from the teleprompter’s written script during his speech, adding to the confusion.
The remarks drew reactions from political figures in the US. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a prominent Democrat and potential 2028 presidential contender, commented on the incident, saying, “None of this is normal. There’s a normalization, a deviancy of consciousness.”
The Davos speech has renewed scrutiny of Trump’s Arctic ambitions while raising eyebrows internationally due to the Greenland-Iceland slip and its broader implications for US-European relations.
