Trump-Greenland latest updates: President threatens to ‘100%’ carry out tariffs as Denmark ramps up military presence – UK Times

Shortly after Donald Trump launched his scathing rant on what he called the “stupidity” of Britain’s Chagos Islands deal, a minister has insisted the U.K. “shouldn’t be embarrassed at all”.

When asked whether Trump’s criticism could change the deal shortly, government minister Darren Jones told Sky News on Tuesday morning: “We’ve agreed the terms of the treaty which has been signed.”

He insisted that Britain shouldn’t “be embarrassed or humiliated at all” by the deal and told the BBC: “Quite frankly Diego Garcia, which is a small island that was part of the British Empire, was having its sovereignty challenged by the Russian government.

“We’ve secured that island as a military base for the next 100 years, because it is an important military base for the U.K. and for our Nato allies, including the United States.”

Donald Trump has leaked messages from European leaders, taken a potshot at the U.K. and shared bizarre AI-generated pictures of the American flag on Greenland, all part of a series of late-night posts on social media.

Trump launched a blistering attack on Britain, calling Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius one of “great stupidity”.He said the deal is “another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired”. The criticism comes just one day after the UK prime minister called for calm amongst the US and Nato allies, amid rising tensions over Trump’s Greenland ambitions.

He shared purported screenshots of messages sent to him by French president Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.

Macron told the U.S. president that he could set up a G7 meeting in Paris on Thursday afternoon after Davos, according to the screenshots.

Rutte, as per the screenshots, told Trump that what the U.S. president accomplished in Syria was “incredible”. “I am committed to finding a way forward on Greenland. Can’t wait to see you,” the message read.

Trump shared two AI-generated pictures showing himself with the American flag on Greenland.

One of the pictures shows Trump planting an American flag in Greenland while standing next to vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio. The other picture is of him talking to European leaders in the White House alongside a map showing the American flag over Greenland and Canada.

Donald Trump has suggested Britain’s “great stupidity” of ceding the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is “another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired” on his Truth Social platform.

Donald Trump this morning shared two AI-generated pictures on social media showing himself with the American flag on Greenland, as he aggressively pushes to seize the Danish territory.

One of the pictures shows Trump planting an American flag in Greenland while standing next to vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio.

The other picture is of him talking to European leaders in the White House alongside a map showing the American flag over Greenland and Canada.

Donald Trump this morning dismissed the arrival of Nato allies in Greenland, claiming: “That wasn’t a military.”

They sent a few people, and they say they sent them not for me, but to guard against Russia,” he told reporters in Florida.

“But you know, Nato has been warning Denmark for about 20 years now, longer than that, 25 years, they’ve been warning Denmark about the Russian threat, and it’s not only Russia, it’s also China.”

International credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has said that Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European allies has increased geopolitical risks in Europe.

“The threat of Greenland-related U.S. tariffs on European allies and European retaliatory measures will be subject to intense discussions and implementation remains highly uncertain. But it signifies a serious upsurge in transatlantic tensions, increasing pressure in Europe to raise defence spending, posing risks to trade and growth, and weakening deterrence against future Russian aggression,” Fitch said in a statement yesterday.

Trump over the weekend said he would impose 10 per cent tariffs on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland starting in February for opposing his bid to seize Greenland.

Fitch said the initial response from E.U. officials showed European leaders were seeking to avoid an escalating cycle of retaliation or further weakening of the U.S. commitment to European defence.

The E.U.’s official response suggested European leaders were keen to avoid a tit-for-tat escalation or any move that could further undermine U.S. commitments to Europe’s defence, the agency said, even as some leaders argued the Trump administration had crossed a red line.

It said the economic impact of a 10 per cent tariff would differ depending on countries’ trade exposure and could cut Europe’s gross domestic product by around 0.5 per cent by the end of 2027 compared with Fitch’s baseline scenario.

Donald Trump this morning claimed that the U.K.’s plan to give away the island of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was an “act of total weakness” as he aggressively pushes to seize Greenland.

Last year, the U.K. signed a deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after a London judge overturned a last-minute injunction and cleared the way for an agreement the government said was vital to protect the nation’s security.

Trump wrote: “Shockingly, our “brilliant” NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.”

The multibillion-dollar deal will allow Britain to retain control of the strategically important U.S.-UK air base on Diego Garcia, the largest island of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, under a 99-year lease.

When U.S. president Donald Trump began his second term in office, it was on the promise of putting “America first”.

For many of his MAGA supporters, that meant rejecting interventionist policies that had overextended the country’s military commitments across the globe.

His National Security Strategy, published last year, promised that “the affairs of other countries are our concern only if their activities directly threaten our interests”.

Maira Butt reports on the countries Trump has targeted in his first 12 months back in office – and where could be next