Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, during an Economic Club of Minnesota lawsuit successful Golden Valley, Minnesota, US, connected Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
Ben Brewer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump is showing the satellite "the U.S. is back," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC, arsenic tensions emergence implicit the president's bid to get Greenland.
Asked astir the president's docket astatine the World Economic Forum successful Davos, Switzerland, wherever Trump is acceptable to marque an code connected Wednesday, Bessent said: "The U.S. is back, and this is what U.S. enactment looks like."
Tensions are precocious astatine the gathering aft Trump raised the stakes connected his volition to get the self-governing Danish territory, which has rattled the NATO subject alliance. Overnight, helium announced 200% tariffs connected 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 much troops to Greenland for a subject exercise.
Bessent said U.S. power of Greenland was "important," adding: "That volition halt immoderate benignant of a kinetic war, truthful wherefore not pre-empt the occupation earlier it starts?"
Bessent told CNBC that European countries should lend their "fair share" towards defense. "While the Europeans person been gathering schools, having healthcare, we person been defending the world," helium said.
Trump has repeatedly said taking power of Greenland is captious for U.S. nationalist security, often citing concerns astir Russia and China's Arctic influence.
Bessent said helium held a gathering with the G7 arsenic good arsenic Mexico, India, South Korea and Australia past week to "avoid this chokehold that China has connected minerals."
— CNBC's Sam Meredith contributed to this report.
— This is breaking news. Check backmost for updates.
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