White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has defended President Donald Trump after he appeared to confuse Greenland and Iceland during remarks at the
World Economic Forum in Davos. The issue was raised after NewsNation reporter Libbey Dean wrote on social media that Trump "appeared to mix up Greenland and Iceland around three times" during his speech. Leavitt rejected the claim in a post on X, writing: "No, he didn't." She added that the president's written remarks referred to Greenland as "a piece of ice", saying: "That's what it is. You're the only one mixing anything up here." Leavitt also shared a screenshot of a Google search showing Greenland's icy waters in support of her response. However, video of the speech shows Trump repeatedly referring to Greenland as Iceland while criticising European allies over their opposition to US ambitions involving the Arctic territory. "I know we'd be there for them. I don't know that they'd be there for us with all of the money we expend, with all of the blood, sweat and tears," Trump said. "They're not there for us on Iceland, I can tell you." He added: "Their stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland." CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter noted that Leavitt's defence appeared to focus on the president's prepared remarks rather than the spoken comments.
"Intriguing: A NewsNation reporter pointed out that Trump ‘appeared to mix up Greenland and Iceland around three times,'" Stelter wrote. "Leavitt now claims ‘he didn't,' even though everyone heard him do it. But she's pointing to ‘his written remarks' instead of the video."
The exchange comes days after Trump criticised his communications team during a White House event marking his first year back in office.
"We've had the best stock market in history, the best 401Ks in history," he said. "I mean, I'm not getting—maybe I have bad public relations people, but we're not getting it across."
Trump's Davos appearance included a wide-ranging address that touched on relations with Europe, wind farms, immigration, the 2020 US election and consumer debt.
He again argued that the United States should control Greenland, claiming only Washington had the capacity to defend it. He suggested that countries could not defend territory they did not own and referred to Germany's occupation of Denmark during the Second World War, criticising the US for not taking Greenland at the time.
Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, has firmly rejected the idea, insisting that Greenland remains Danish territory.
