President Donald Trump is showing the world “the U.S. is back,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC, as tensions rise over the president’s bid to acquire Greenland.
Asked about the president’s agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Trump is set to make an address on Wednesday, Bessent said: “The U.S. is back, and this is what U.S. leadership looks like.”
Tensions are high at the meeting after Trump raised the stakes on his intention to acquire the self-governing Danish territory, which has rattled the NATO military alliance. Overnight, he announced 200% tariffs on French wines and Champagne, and said the U.K. was showing “total weakness” by handing sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Meanwhile, Denmark sent more troops to Greenland for a military exercise.
Bessent said U.S. control of Greenland was “important,” adding: “That will stop any kind of a kinetic war, so why not pre-empt the problem before it starts?”
