US President Donald Trump's speech in Davos, which lasted more than an hour, caused a great stir in the global community. In his speech, he mentioned the Greenland issue as a "small request," sharply and pompously commenting on his contribution to NATO, wind energy in China, European energy policy, and investments attracted to the US. However, BBC's special fact-checking service - BBC Verify - carefully analyzed these statements and revealed that a number of claims are not true.
According to Trump, the US "returned" Greenland to Denmark after World War II. However, according to historical sources, Greenland was never American territory. As early as 1933, the international court confirmed that the island belonged to Denmark. The agreement signed between the US and Denmark in 1941 only provided for the protection of the island from the Nazis, and the question of sovereignty was never discussed.
On the topic of NATO, Trump's words were also denied by experts. He stated that the United States is covering almost 100% of the alliance's defense spending. In reality, the US share has been around 60-70% in recent years. NATO members have only just begun to fully fulfill their commitment to allocate 2% of GDP to defense, while the 5% figure remains only a long-term target.
Trump also put forward the opinion that "the US has never received anything from NATO." BBC Verify reminded that after the events of September 11, 2001, Article 5 of NATO was launched specifically in the interests of the US. Many allied countries, including Denmark, have suffered serious casualties in the military operations in Afghanistan.
The criticism of China turned out to be unfounded. While Trump stated that there are no wind power plants in this country, China is actually the world's largest wind energy producer. In 2024 alone, China produced twice as much wind energy as the US.
The claim against Great Britain that "92 percent of oil revenues are received by the state" also proved to be false. Although the real tax burden is high, it is levied on profit and is 78 percent, not income.
The biggest controversy arose around the figures on investments attracted to the US economy. Trump stated that $18 trillion had been invested, but official White House data recorded this figure as $9.6 trillion. Experts emphasize that promises, the fulfillment of which is still unclear, are also included in these figures.
In conclusion, although Trump's speech was politically sensational, it raised serious questions from a factual standpoint. BBC Verify's analysis once again showed that in global matters, not pompous statements, but precise figures and verified data are decisive.
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