Trump cancels tariff threat over Greenland, says NATO agreed to 'framework' of future Arctic deal

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he was scrapping his planned tariffs on eight European nations in an effort to force U.S. control over Greenland, pulling a dramatic reversal shortly after insisting he wanted to get the island "including right, title and ownership.”

In a post on his social media site, Trump said he had agreed with the head of NATO on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security, potentially defusing tension that had far-reaching geopolitical implications.

He said “additional discussions" on Greenland were being held concerning the Golden Dome missile defense program, a multilayered, $175 billion system that for the first time will put U.S. weapons in space.

In a subsequent interview with CNBC, Trump offered few details but described the agreement reached as a “forever deal” and boasted, “Now we’re going to have even better security than we would have had before.”

The president has threatened tariffs before only to back away. In April, after first saying he would slap massive import levies on nations from around the world, which prompted a sharp negative market reaction, Trump eased off.

But his change of heart this time came only after he used his speech at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps to focus on Greenland and threatened to upend NATO, an alliance that has been among the globe's most unshakable since the early days of the Cold War.

In his address, Trump said he was asking for territory that was “cold and poorly located" and that the U.S. had effectively saved Europe during World War II while declaring of NATO: “It’s a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades.”

“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won’t do that, OK?” Trump said, later adding, “I don’t have to" and "I don’t want to use force.”

But Trump has also said repeatedly that, while the U.S. will defend NATO, he wasn't convinced the alliance will backup Washington, if needed, and suggested that was at least part of the reason for his aggressive stance toward Greenland.

His sentiments prompted NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in a post-speech event with Trump, to say that the alliance would stand with the U.S. if it is attacked.

“You can be assured, absolutely,” Rutte said.

A short time later came Trump's post canceling the tariffs.

Trump argues that the U.S. needs Greenland for national security and to counter threats from Russia and China in the Arctic region, despite America already having a large military base there. He threatened to impose steep U.S. import taxes on Denmark and seven other allies unless they negotiate a transfer of the semi-autonomous territory.

The tariffs were to have started at 10% next month and climb to 25% in June.

Trump often tries to increase pressure on the other side when he believes it can lead to a favorable agreement. His threats at Davos appeared on the verge of rupturing NATO, which was founded by leading European nations, the U.S. and Canada to counter the Soviet Union.

The alliance's other members were steadfast in saying Greenland is not for sale and cannot be wrested from Denmark, while angrily rejecting Trump's promised tariffs.

A Danish government official told The Associated Press after Trump's speech that Copenhagen was ready to discuss U.S. security concerns. But the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, underscored the government’s position that “red lines”— namely Denmark’s sovereignty — must be respected.

It was not immediately clear how Trump's canceling of tariffs might change such calculations.

In the meantime, Greenland's government responded by telling its citizens to be prepared. It has published a handbook in English and Greenlandic on what to do in a crisis that urges residents to ensure they have sufficient food, water, fuel and supplies at home to survive for five days.

“We just went to the grocery store and bought the supplies,” said Tony Jakobsen in Greenland’s capital Nuuk said, showing off the contents of bags that included candles, snacks and toilet paper.

Jakobsen said he thought Trump’s rhetoric towards Greenland was “just threats... but it’s better to be ready than not ready.”

Before backing down, Trump had urged Denmark and the rest of NATO to stand aside, adding an ominous warning.

“We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Trump said. “You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no, and we will remember.”

He also called for opening “immediate negotiations” for the U.S. to acquire Greenland. In subsequent comments to reporters, he declined to name a price that might be paid, saying only, “There’s a bigger price, and that’s the price of safety and security and national security and international security.”

His arrival in Davos was delayed after a minor electrical problem on Air Force One forced a return to Washington to switch aircraft. As Trump’s motorcade headed down a narrow road to the speech site, onlookers — including some skiers — lined the route. Some made obscene gestures, and one held up a paper cursing the president.

After his address, Trump met with the leaders of Poland, Belgium and Egypt.

Financial markets that had fallen sharply on Trump’s threatened tariffs bounced back Wednesday. Also breathing a sigh of relief were a number of U.S. officials who had also been concerned that Trump’s hard-line stance and bellicose rhetoric toward Greenland, Denmark and other NATO allies could harm other foreign policy goals.

Trump's Davos speech was originally supposed to focus on how to lower U.S. housing prices — part of a larger effort to bring down the cost of living, which could prove a liability for the president's party of November’s midterm elections.

Greenland instead carried the day, though Trump mistakenly referred to Iceland, mixing up that country with Greenland four times during his speech and for the fifth time since Tuesday.

“This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America,” Trump said. “That’s our territory.”

When he finally did mention housing, Trump suggested he did not support a measure to encourage affordability. He said bringing down rising home prices hurts property values and makes homeowners who once felt wealthy because of the equity in their houses feel poorer.

Before Trump announced that he was abandoning the tariffs and potentially easing international pressure, his speech left people in Nuuk preparing for the worst.

Resident Johnny Hedemann said it was “insulting” that Trump “talks about the Greenlandic people and the Greenlandic nation as just an ice cube.” He spoke while heading out to buy a camping stove and instant mashed potatoes.

“Living in this nature, you have to be prepared for almost anything. And now there’s another threat — and that’s Trump,” Hedemann said.

Weissert and Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Emma Burrows in Nuuk, Greenland, Jamey Keaten in Davos and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump, right, meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump enters the stage for his special address during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

President Donald Trump speaks during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

President Donald Trump speaks during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

President Donald Trump walks on to the stage during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

President Donald Trump addresses the audience during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump walks toward Marine One to transfer to Davos after arriving at the airport in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Air Force One lands at the airport in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnd Wiegmann)

Marine One, carrying President Donald Trump, flies over snow covered mountains during his transfer to Davos after arriving at the airport in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Marine One, carrying President Donald Trump, is escorted by military helicopter during his transfer to Davos after arriving at the airport in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One after arriving at Zurich International Airport for the World Economic Forum, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Zurich, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump, center, speaks as he steps off Air Force One after arriving at Zurich International Airport for the World Economic Forum, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Zurich, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One after arriving at Zurich International Airport for the World Economic Forum, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Zurich, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump, center, speaks as he steps off Air Force One after arriving at Zurich International Airport for the World Economic Forum, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Zurich, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at the USA house during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Mark Rutte, Secretary-General, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), speaks during a panel discussion during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

Things are unloaded from Air Force One after the plane, carrying President Donald Trump to the World Economic Form in Davos, experienced a minor electrical issue after departure, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, and returned to Joint Base Andrews, Md. Trump will board a second plane to complete the trip. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats had planned to campaign in the midterm elections on affordability and health care, two issues where Americans are particularly unhappy with President Donald Trump.

But the aggressive immigration crackdown in Minnesota, including the killing of Renee Good during a confrontation with federal agents, has scrambled the party's playbook.

Now Democrats are trying to translate visceral outrage into political strategy, even though there's little consensus on how to press forward on issues where the party has recently struggled to earn voters' trust.

Some Democrats want to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a proposal that echoes “defund the police” rhetoric from Trump's first term, and impeach administration officials such as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Others have taken a different approach, introducing legislation intended to curb alleged abuses by federal agents. But those ideas have been criticized by activists as insufficient, and there is mounting pressure to obstruct funding for deportations.

“We’re Democrats. I’m sure we’re going to have 50 different ideas and 50 different ways to say it,” said Chuck Rocha, a party strategist who is advising several House and Senate candidates on immigration this year.

If Democrats fail to strike the right balance, they could imperil their efforts to retake control of Congress and statehouses around the country. They could also hamper a chance to rebuild credibility with voters whose dissatisfaction with border enforcement under Democratic President Joe Biden helped return Trump, a Republican, to the White House.

Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and Biden's former domestic policy adviser, believes the party can thread the needle.

“It’s not too much to ask that we have a government that can produce a secure border, that can deport people who are not legally here, and that can also respect people’s civil and human rights,” she told The Associated Press. “This country has done that before, and it can do it again.”

Immigration crackdowns have spread from city to city since Trump took office, but the latest operation in Minnesota has generated some of the most intense controversy.

Good, 37, was fatally shot by a federal agent earlier this month, prompting protests and angry responses from local Democratic leaders. Administration officials accused Good of trying to hit an agent with her car, an explanation that has been widely disputed based on videos circulating online.

“I think the party is very unified in our disdain and concern of the actions certainly of DHS and ICE,” said Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. “We should campaign on fairness and due process for all people,” Garcia added, “which is being violated every single day by ICE and DHS. We should be aggressive in that posture.”

But pushing back on the administration requires Democrats to step onto difficult political terrain.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults trusted Republicans more to handle immigration, according to a Washington Post/Ipsos poll from September, higher than about 3 in 10 who said the same about Democrats.

On the issue of crime, Republicans also held the advantage. About 44% thought Republicans were better, compared with 22% for the Democrats.

Republicans feel confident that their intertwined messages on crime and immigration will resonate with voters in the midterms. They frequently highlight violent criminals detained or deported, downplaying examples of nonviolent migrants who have been swept up.

“If Democrats want to make 2026 a referendum on which party stands for strong immigration policies and protecting public safety, we will take that fight any day of the week,” said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Delanie Bomar.

Some Democrats are more interested in using the issue as a way to pivot back to core messages about health care and the cost of living.

“I want everybody to understand, the cuts to your health care are what’s paying for ICE to be doing this,” New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said last week. “The cuts to your health care are what’s paying for this.”

Democratic strategists have circulated the clip as an example of a potentially effective pitch, particularly after Trump slashed funding for some safety net programs during his first year in office.

The president's approval may be slipping on the issue of immigration.

His approval rating on the issue has fallen since the start of his term, according to Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling, from 49% in March to 38% in January.

Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest Hispanic civil rights group in the U.S., said crackdowns have hurt Trump politically.

“Republican members of Congress are really uncomfortable with these agencies and their existing tactics, because they know it’s going to hurt them back at home come election cycle,” he said.

Proaño said he had been disappointed with how Democrats had accommodated the Trump administration on immigration in the last year, but he praised changes in the party's strategy since Good's death was captured on video.

“I think everyone just gasped at that, and I think there has been a marked shift since then,” he said.

Some people who have vocally supported Trump in the past, like podcast host Joe Rogan, have expressed reservations.

“Are we really going to be the Gestapo?” he asked recently.

But Trump has not shown any sign of backing down. The administration has ramped up the number of federal agents deployed to Minnesota and the Justice Department issued subpoenas to the state's Democrats, including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded enforcement operations.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, who used to lead the party in his home state of Minnesota, said “there's a lot of pain and anguish.”

“It’s heartbreaking," he said in a recent interview. "It’s chilling to think that this is the United States of America, what is supposed to be a beacon for democracy and freedom.”

People gather near the post office during a protest, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A person holds an upside-down American flag as law enforcement stand during a protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Federal officers stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during a protest on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - People march and gather near the post office during a protest, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)