Speaking to the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, President Donald Trump used a wide-ranging address to frame US foreign policy as a test of deterrence and leverage, with a pointed focus on Israel, Hamas, and the balance of power in the Middle East, while also pressing long-running demands on allies and rivals from NATO burden-sharing to Greenland.
On Gaza and Israel’s security requirements, President Trump said Hamas had agreed to disarm, then warned the window for compliance would be short. “Hamas has agreed to give up its weapons,” he said, adding: “We will know in the coming days whether Hamas is willing to disarm or not. If not, we will blow them up.”
The comments came as Israel and Hamas remain locked in a post–October 7 political and military reality that has reshaped regional alignments and turned the question of Gaza’s future into an international test case. Israel has insisted that any postwar arrangement must prevent Hamas from reestablishing armed control, while Arab and Western governments have floated competing plans for governance, reconstruction, and security oversight.
President Trump used the Davos stage to argue that US power, used decisively, changes calculations. He portrayed deterrence not as a background condition but as an active tool for forcing adversaries and partners alike toward deals.
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He also turned his attention to Iran, saying, “Iran has been the bully of the Middle East for years, and now it is no longer,” framing Tehran’s reduced room for maneuver as evidence that sustained pressure works.
Beyond the Middle East, Trump returned to themes that have defined his second term. He questioned whether NATO members are prepared to meet their defense obligations, saying, “I don’t think our NATO allies are ready to protect us.”
That skepticism fed into his renewed argument for bringing Greenland under US control. He described the island as vital to Arctic and missile-defense strategy, saying, “There is no force in NATO capable of protecting Greenland except the United States,” while also stressing, “I will not use force to seize Greenland.”
He coupled the strategic case with a historical argument, saying Denmark failed to defend Greenland during World War II and that the US had stepped in to do so.
Turning to North America, Trump issued a blunt warning to Ottawa: “Canada lives because of the United States.”
On Ukraine, Trump said the war in Eastern Europe could be moving toward an agreement and said he expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later that day.
The Davos appearance also included Trump’s familiar economic message. He said Americans “are very happy with me” and called the United States “the economic engine of the planet,” claiming his return to office had produced “the most incredible economic turnaround in history” and brought “$18 trillion in investments” into the country.
Taken together, the speech outlined a consistent doctrine: The United States sits at the center of global economics and security, allies must carry more weight, adversaries must be confronted with credible threats, and diplomacy, in Trump’s view, works best when backed by unmistakable pressure.