Fact-checking Donald Trump’s Davos speech

In a free speech to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump made a series of disputed claims.

Trump talked about his desire to get Greenland from Denmark – which he called a “small ask”, the US contribution to NATO and wind power in China.

His speech – which lasted more than an hour – contained a number of false claims which BBC Verify looked into.

For weeks, Trump has discussed his desire to acquire Greenland, a largely autonomous territory from Denmark. He said it was essential to U.S. national security.

At Davos, he said that after World War II, “we gave Greenland back to Denmark,” adding: “How stupid were we to do that?”

But it wasn’t America’s job to give back.

In 1933, an international tribunal – predecessor to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ruled that Greenland belonged to Denmark.

In 1941, after Denmark’s capitulation to Germany the previous year, American and Danish representatives signed an agreement authorizing the United States to defend Greenland to prevent the Nazis from taking it.

This led to the construction of American bases on the island as well as the deployment of American troops.

However, the agreement did not involve a transfer of sovereignty, meaning Greenland never became a US territory.

The US president criticized NATO and claimed that “the United States pays practically 100% of NATO.”

He said about the level of contributions from the member countries of the military alliance: “They did not pay the 2% and now they are paying the 5%.”

None of these statements are correct.

In recent years, US military spending has accounted for approximately 70% of total spending by NATO countries.

In 2024, this figure fell to 65%, and in 2025 it is estimated at 62%, as all NATO members were required for the first time to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense.

The US president has convinced these countries to commit to spending more on defense, but the 5% that Trump is talking about is a long-term goal – to be achieved by 2035.

Currently, no NATO member spends this much, with even Poland – the country that spends most of its GDP on defense – reportedly spending just under 4.5% in 2025.

Trump claimed that the United States “never got anything” from NATO and that “we never asked for anything.”

NATO’s website states that “collective defense is NATO’s most fundamental principle” and Article 5 of its founding treaty states that “an armed attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against all”.

The United States is the only member of the alliance to invoke Article 5, following the September 11 attacks.

NATO countries contributed troops and military equipment to the subsequent U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

Among the countries that contributed to the disaster was Denmark, which suffered one of the highest per capita casualty rates of all U.S. allies. They were deployed extensively in heavily contested areas alongside British forces in Helmand province.

Trump also criticized wind energy, a familiar target that he said was part of a “new green scam.”

He pointed the finger at China, saying that although it manufactured many wind turbines, he had “been unable to find any wind farms in China.”

China has one of the largest wind farms in the world, in Gansu, visible from space.

China produces more wind power than any other country, according to Our World in Data. Its statistics show that in 2024, China will generate 997 terawatt hours from wind power.

That’s more than double that of the United States, which ranks second.

President Trump also pointed the finger at the United Kingdom, criticizing its energy policy.

Referring to North Sea oil, Trump incorrectly said: “They [the UK] make it impossible for oil companies to leave, they take 92% of the revenue.”

Oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea pay 30% corporation tax on their profits and an additional rate of 10%. This is higher than the 25% corporate tax paid by other large companies.

In November 2024, the government increased the tax on windfall profits for oil and gas companies from 35% to 38%.

This brings the total tax on North Sea oil to 78%, paid on profits, not revenue.

The windfall tax, introduced by the Conservatives in 2022 in response to rising energy bills, is due to expire in 2030.

President Trump also spoke about the investments his administration has secured for America.

He said: “We have secured commitments for a record $18 trillion,” and later repeated: “$18 trillion is being invested.”

He has made similar claims before – in October he said the US had attracted investment worth $17 trillion (£12.7 trillion) – but there is no publicly available evidence to support such large figures.

A White House website, last updated in November, aims to track “new investments in American manufacturing, technology and infrastructure.” It says investments under Trump total $9.6bn (£7.1bn).

The largest amount on the list is a $1.4 billion (£1 billion) investment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) manufacturing and industrial sector.

The website of the UAE Embassy in Washington DC states that the UAE is “working with the Trump administration to make a historic $1.4 trillion investment in the United States over the next decade.”

Greg Auclair, a statistician at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told BBC Verify that the White House tracker “includes promises that may not come to fruition – for example, the trade deal with the EU now appears frozen due to tensions in Greenland.”

On Wednesday, the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee announced that it was suspending ratification of the agreement “until the United States decides to recommit itself to the path of cooperation rather than confrontation.”

Auclair added that while there has been an uptick in foreign investment in the United States over the past year, “it will be several years before the results of the Trump administration’s investment efforts become clear.”

Reporting by Tom Edgington, Lucy Gilder, Matt Murphy, Nicholas Barrett, Anthony Reuben and Gerry Georgieva.