Amid a lengthy White House press conference on Monday, President Donald Trump appeared to inadvertently answer a question no one had asked: why he really turned on NATO.
It came as an aside — tucked between complaints about European allies refusing to join the Iran war and a fresh round of boasts about American military power. Trump veered, mid-thought, into familiar, erm, territory.
“It all began with, if you want to know the truth, Greenland,” he said. “We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us. And I said, ‘bye, bye.'”
The admission puts the White House’s stated grievances — sluggish defense spending, lack of support for Iran operations — in a different light. It’s now just secondary to a territorial demand that allies were never going to meet. Trump confirmed as much himself.
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He went on to brand NATO a “paper tiger,” saying Putin has no fear of the alliance, and accused member states of going out of their way not to support US military operations in Iran. He singled out South Korea, Australia, and Japan for failing to join the effort, and reserved praise for Gulf nations — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE — which he credited for backing the US.
The remarks came ahead of a visit by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to Washington, where he is scheduled to meet Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on April 8.
In an interview with Britain’s Telegraph published April 1, Trump said a US withdrawal from NATO was “beyond reconsideration.”
Read: Trump Says US Is ‘Strongly Considering’ NATO Exit After Allies Refuse to Back Iran War
Tensions over Greenland stretch back to early January 2026, when Trump said acquiring the territory was a matter of national security and acknowledged that preserving NATO or seizing Greenland may be “a choice.” Denmark, a founding NATO member, has flatly rejected any US takeover. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that a US military move against Denmark would effectively end the alliance.
Related: Is Trump pursuing Greenland because Norway did not give him the Nobel?
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark and home to a US military base that has operated since the 1950s. Its Arctic position has long made it a priority for American national security planners — but Trump’s push for outright annexation, and Monday’s slip, suggest the stakes he has assigned to it go well beyond strategy.
For Trump, every falling out begins with a land dispute
It’s not the first time Trump has been vindictive over land he wanted to have. During a February 28 deposition before the House Oversight Committee, former President Bill Clinton testified that Trump told him, at a charity golf tournament in 2002 or 2003, why he and Jeffrey Epstein were no longer friends.
Clinton recalled Trump’s exact words: “You know, we had some great times together over the years, but we fell out, all because of a real estate deal. I’m sorry it happened.”
Clinton said he did not put any sexual interpretation on the remark at the time, and added that Trump never said anything to suggest he was aware of Epstein’s crimes.
A written record of a 2019 FBI interview with retired Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter — showed that Trump called the department around 2006, after its investigation of Epstein became publicly known, to express support.
“Thank goodness you’re stopping him,” Trump told Reiter, according to the document. “Everyone has known he’s been doing this.”
The document identified Trump as one of the very first people to call once the probe was public. Trump also reportedly told Reiter that Ghislaine Maxwell was Epstein’s operative and that she was “evil.”
In July 2019, when asked whether he had any suspicions about Epstein, Trump said “I had no idea. I had no idea.”
The Justice Department, when asked about the 2006 call, said it was “not aware of any corroborating evidence that the President contacted law enforcement 20 years ago.” The White House did not confirm the call took place.
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