U.S. President Donald Trump linked his threats over Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, according to a text message released Monday involving Norway’s prime minister.
The message said that, “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.” It added that, “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”
Trump’s message to Jonas Gahr Støre came as the dispute over Greenland intensified between Washington and European allies that have rallied around Denmark. On Saturday, Trump announced a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from eight nations that have supported Denmark and Greenland, including Norway, and those countries issued a rebuke.
In the European Union, foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc had “no interest to pick a fight” but would “hold our ground.” Her comment echoed a broader push among longtime U.S. allies to keep Greenland off the negotiating table, while urging Washington to discuss alternatives.
Denmark’s position remained similarly firm. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Monday that “you can’t leave anything out until the president himself has decided to leave anything out” when asked whether Trump could invade Greenland.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also urged de-escalation on Monday, saying, “I think this can be resolved and should be resolved through calm discussion,” and adding that he did not believe military action would occur.
Trump meanwhile said he had moved discussions toward international forums. Early Tuesday, he posted that he had spoken with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and “I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland,” where they will be attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting this week. Trump later posted a text message from French President Emmanuel Macron suggesting a meeting of Group of Seven leaders in Paris after Davos.
The reporting also described Trump posting provocatively doctored images. One showed Trump planting the U.S. flag next to a sign reading “Greenland, U.S. Territory, Est. 2026.” Another showed Trump in the Oval Office next to a map depicting Greenland and Canada covered with the U.S. Stars and Stripes.
In Greenland, opposition to the threats appeared to harden after Trump’s tariff announcement. Thousands of Greenlanders marched over the weekend in protest of any effort to take over the island. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post Monday that tariff threats would not change Greenland’s stance, writing: “We will not be pressured.”
Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business, minerals, energy, justice and equality, told The Associated Press that she was moved by the quick response of allies to the tariff threat, saying it showed that countries realize “this is about more than Greenland.” She also said, “I think a lot of countries are afraid that if they let Greenland go, what would be next?”
The White House confirmed the authenticity of the text message. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Trump “is confident Greenlanders would be better served if protected by the United States from modern threats in the Arctic region.”
Støre said Trump’s message was a reply to an earlier missive from him and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, sent on behalf of themselves, that conveyed their opposition to the tariff announcement and pointed to a need to de-escalate. The Norwegian leader said the earlier note proposed a telephone conversation among the three leaders.
Støre also said Norway’s position on Greenland was clear, saying Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and that Norway “fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter.” On the Nobel Peace Prize, Støre said the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee, not the Norwegian Government, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.
Trump has openly sought the prize. The article said the Nobel Committee awarded the peace prize last year to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, and that Machado presented Trump with her Nobel medal. It also reported that, last week, Trump said he planned to keep the medal, while the Nobel Committee said the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared.
Speaking Monday night to reporters before boarding Air Force One on his way back from Florida to Washington, Trump said he didn’t “care about the Nobel prize,” according to the report. The reporting also said he told reporters, “A very fine woman felt that I deserved it and really wanted me to have the Nobel prize,” and that he appreciated it, while saying he did not care what Norway said and that his focus was “saving lives.”
Trump also tied the tariffs to the recent European response. In the latest tariff threat, the report said Trump indicated the import taxes would be retaliation for last week’s deployment of symbolic troop numbers from European countries to Greenland, while also suggesting he was using tariffs as leverage to negotiate with Denmark.
European governments said they sent the troops to assess Arctic security as part of a response to Trump’s concerns about interference from Russia and China. A senior European military official told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity, that European nations said they would send not more than a few dozen troops collectively.
The report said Trump threatened eight European countries with tariffs Sunday after they announced small numbers of troop deployments to the Arctic island, including Denmark. It said six of those eight countries are part of the European Union, which operates as a single economic zone for trade.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he discussed the region’s importance for NATO “collective security” in a Monday meeting with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland. The reporting said European Council President António Costa said the bloc’s leaders expressed “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion,” and announced a summit for Thursday evening.