Trump, NATO Allies Clash Over Greenland Troop Move (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: troops arriving in Greenland. The Danish military just posting these images that we're showing you of troops arriving in Greenland looks like already in darkness tonight and it comes as our Jim Schuto is now reporting that President Trump said on a call with the British Prime Minister that he may have been given quote bad information on why European troops were sent to Greenland. Now Jim's reporting is according to a senior British official. The deployments of troops though we just showed you those latest images but they also come from Germany, Sweden, France, Norway, the Netherlands and Finland. A massive NATO statement all on the heels of Trump's threats to quote have Greenland one way or the other. Trump threatening those countries militarily. They are of course all America's strongest allies and also specifically threatening ammunition to military with hefty tariffs for their military show of force against his taking over Greenland. So if Trump was confused as to their motive or what they were saying he certainly didn't wait to clarify the confusion. He immediately right had said he was going to impose 10 percent tariffs on those NATO allies ramping it up to 25 percent. Now based on what may be bad information or is it a convenient excuse for an off-ramp to a situation that is troubling, terrifying and spiraling, escalating because the text messages between the President of the United States and the Norwegian Prime Minister are unlike anything we've ever seen, frankly from a President of the United States in any capacity, never mind between him and an ally. The Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Garsør texting Trump yesterday afternoon, dear Mr. President, dear Donald, on the contact across the Atlantic on Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine and your tariff announcement yesterday. You know our position on these issues but we believe we should all work to take this down and de-escalate. So much is happening around us where we need to stand together. We are proposing a call with you later today with both of us or separately. Give us a hint of what you prefer. Best, Alex. Personal, a text, obviously an attempt at de-escalation, a handshaking, trying to move past this. We should all work together. Give us a hint of what you prefer. Best, well a little less than an hour later Trump responded and as unfortunately the whole world is now well aware it was not in kind. Dear Jonas, considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars plus, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace. He continues to say although it will always be predominant but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China and why do they have a right of ownership anyway? There are no written documents. It's only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago but we had boats landing there also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding and now NATO should do something for the United States. The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland. Thank you President D.J.T. and as you could see there all of the random capitalizations are as he wrote it. We are now learning that that message was then forwarded by the President's National Security Council so people went and did this for him to multiple European ambassadors so they could understand this. Officials screed from the President of the United States. Now officials telling CNN that European diplomats are comparing Trump to Putin and as for Putin perhaps he never even dreamed of such an incredible moment. Just look at how Russia's state television is reacting to Trump pushing the NATO alliance to the brink over Greenland. This was uncovered by journalist Julia Davis.

[00:03:31] Speaker 2: Americans are delivering a catastrophic blow to NATO. To NATO because one country that is a member of NATO is taking away the territory that rightfully belongs to a country that is also a member of NATO. I think this benefits us.

[00:03:53] Speaker 1: Well I mean that I guess he's stating a fact. Yet Trump does seem intent on getting Greenland. He is now tying that to not winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I mean the entire beginning of that text right was because I didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize. And that prize, as bizarre as this is, is now something we have to keep talking about because Trump has been obsessed with it. In fact if you go all the way back to when foreign president Obama won it back in 2009 we can find this trail.

[00:04:20] Speaker 3: This guy got the Nobel Peace Prize and every time I look he's going into another country. He got the Nobel Peace Prize. Okay think of it. He got the Nobel Peace Prize. But Norman got the Nobel Peace Prize. He said I have nominated you or respectfully on behalf of Japan. I am asking them to give you the Nobel Peace Prize. I said thank you. I'm going to tell you about the Nobel Peace Prize.

[00:04:53] Speaker 1: All right Jim Sciutto begins our coverage out front because Jim I know you have some brand new reporting here. What are you learning from your sources?

[00:05:00] Speaker 4: I'm told by a senior U.K. official that during their phone call on Sunday between Trump and the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer that President Trump conceded to Starmer that he may have been given bad information about that increased deployment of European troops to Greenland. What could that bad information be? Well the intention of that deployment is to explore security needs for Greenland and perhaps to boost security for Greenland in part to meet President Trump's demands. Did Trump interpret that deployment as instead a European defense against any U.S. involvement in Greenland? It's hard to know exactly what he misinterpreted there. I will say this U.K. officials say that Danish our Danish counterparts briefed the U.S. prior to that European deployment and not only brief them because I'm told by a senior Danish official that those deployments were coordinated between Europe and the U.S. through their existing military channels. That said the U.K. is seeing that small concession from President Trump to Starmer as at least a potential path to de-escalation. They're looking for hope here Aaron but one thing that has not changed I'm told by U.K. officials Danish officials and others is that President Trump has indicated no desire or willingness to move off his demand that the U.S. take Greenland somehow some way and that remains a red line for European leaders.

[00:06:33] Speaker 1: Yeah I mean I guess if that's if that's what he's saying and that's what they're saying then then then where we are still bumping up against a wall. All right Jim thank you very much with all that new reporting and Jim has more reporting coming up at 9 p.m. on The Source. Don't miss that with Jim and a lot to get to with our experts here. Okay Seth Jones let me just start with you because I know you've had a lot of conversations with European officials here in these past hours. What are they feeling about this?

[00:07:01] Speaker 5: Aaron they're feeling exasperated. I had one senior official who advises a head of state in Europe say that he just they just cannot understand that the biggest threat from NATO is not coming now from the Russians although that is serious but now from the Americans within NATO that NATO which which has has a 1951 pact in place to allow the United States to put space base assets in air defense assets in to protect the U.S. homeland. Every you know really the the ability to protect U.S. national security assets U.S. can do that with what is in place right now. So so just exasperated that there is such a threat to the alliance right now from the U.S. for what what most people do not fully understand the rationale the strategic rationale for for the president doing this.

[00:07:57] Speaker 1: Yeah it's hard to find anyone who who does when you lay it out like that. I mean Dan you're in Davos right now. Investors, CEOs, world leaders are there. Look they're hearing Trump say OK I'm going to put tariffs on our closest allies of 10 percent. We're going to ramp them up to 25 percent. And basically unless unless the United States takes over Greenland I mean are people genuinely worried about this now.

[00:08:25] Speaker 6: Look I could tell you Aaron I mean it's definitely caused some white knuckles here at Davos because the worry in terms of the markets. OK is this another now we start going down the tariff route. You know is the bar going to be worse than by which I ultimately believe it will be. But at a time that we're talking about U.S. ahead of China for the first time in 30 years when it comes to AI revolution in tech. This has been the conversation I could tell you in the pavilions at all the events that I've seen today going into what's going to be this sort of you know an old Western standoff that we're going to see you know when when obviously when Trump comes here.