Trump’s Davos claims fact-checked: Greenland, NATO, China and $18 trillion – fact or fiction? | World News
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump addressed global leaders at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland. His speech included several claims that raised questions and were subject to scrutiny by fact-checkers.
He spoke of his desire to purchase Greenland, which he described as a “small request” and emphasized its importance to US national security. He also touched on America’s contributions to NATO and criticized wind energy developments in China.
Here we check the accuracy of the important claims he made in his speech that lasted more than an hour.
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Greenland
Trump stated that the USA returned Greenland to Denmark after World War II and questioned the accuracy of this decision. But the Arctic island was never under US sovereignty, so it could not be “extradited.”
In 1933, an international court that predated today’s International Court of Justice confirmed that Greenland was part of Denmark. After Denmark’s surrender to Germany in 1941, the United States and Denmark signed an agreement allowing Washington to defend Greenland to prevent invasion by Nazi Germany.
This agreement allowed American military presence and bases on the island, but did not transfer sovereignty.
NATO expenditures
Trump also claimed that the United States covers almost the entire NATO budget. He suggested that other member countries’ contributions were only 2% and were now moving towards 5%.
Data shows that the United States has historically provided about 70% of NATO defense spending in recent years; This fell to 65% in 2024 and an estimated 62% in 2025, as NATO members agreed to gradually reach 2% of their defense GDP.
The 5 percent figure Trump cited represents a long-term goal for 2035, not current reality. Poland, the NATO country with the highest defense spending in 2025, allocated just under 4.5% of its GDP.
Returns from the organization
Trump argued that the United States received nothing and wanted nothing from NATO. NATO’s collective defense principle obliges an attack on one member to be considered an attack on all. The United States invoked this provision after the September 11 attacks and utilized allied troops and equipment during the Afghanistan campaign.
Denmark, in particular, suffered significant losses while contributing to operations alongside British forces.
wind energy in china
Trump criticized wind energy as a “green scam” and claimed that although China produced many turbines, he could not find a single wind farm there.
In fact, China is home to some of the world’s largest wind farms, including one visible from space in Gansu province. Data shows that China will produce 997 terawatt-hours of wind energy in 2024; This is more than twice the production of the second-ranked country, the United States.
north sea oil
Trump also took aim at Britain’s energy policies, claiming it collects 92 percent of North Sea oil revenues and makes it difficult for oil companies to operate.
In fact, North Sea companies pay 30% corporation tax plus a surcharge of 10% on profits. The government increased the windfall tax from 35% to 38% in 2024; This resulted in a total tax of 78% on profits, not income. The unexpected tax, which was introduced in 2022, is planned to end in 2030.
US investments
Trump has repeated this figure many times, claiming that his administration has provided a record $18 trillion in investment to the United States.
Publicly available data shows total investment under management is close to $9.6 trillion. The largest stated commitment is $1.4 trillion from the United Arab Emirates for manufacturing and industrial projects.
Analysts say some of these commitments are conditional and it could take several years for the full impact to materialize. The European Parliament recently suspended approval of a US trade deal until Washington shows it prefers cooperation over conflict.
