European leaders have hit back at Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on countries opposing his Greenland takeover, saying the move would “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral”.
The US president threatened a 25% tariff on a slew of European countries – including Denmark, Germany, France and the UK – until the US is allowed to purchase Greenland, in an extraordinary escalation of the president’s bid to claim the autonomous Danish territory.
In response the French president, Emmanuel Macron, warned that “no amount of intimidation” will persuade European nations to change their course on Greenland, while Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the threat was “completely wrong”.
Trump threatens 25% tariff on European allies
Donald Trump said he would impose a 10% tariff on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland beginning 1 February, “on any and all goods sent to the United States of America”.
He said the tariff will increase to 25% on 1 June.
“This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump said in a lengthy post on Truth Social.
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Macron: ‘No intimidation or threats will influence us’
Emmanuel Macron immediately called Donald Trump’s tariff threats “unacceptable”. He said they had “no place” in a context in which Europe was trying to defend Greenland, and in which Denmark was an EU member state, Nato member and signatory to the UN charter embodying international law.
“No intimidation or threats will influence us, whether in Ukraine, Greenland or anywhere else in the world, when we are faced with such situations.”
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Starmer says Trump’s tariff threats are ‘completely wrong’
Keir Starmer said Donald Trump’s decision to impose 10% tariffs on the UK and seven other European countries over Greenland was “completely wrong”.
“Our position on Greenland is very clear – it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes,” the UK prime minister said on Saturday evening.
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Thousands of Greenlanders march against Trump’s takeover threat
Thousands of Greenlanders marched across snow and ice to take a stand against Donald Trump on Saturday. They held signs of protest, waved their national flag and chanted “Greenland is not for sale” in the face of increasing threats of an American takeover.
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US federal forces shoot in face and blind two protesters with ‘less-lethal’ munitions
Two protesters have been blinded by so-called “less-lethal” munitions deployed by federal officers during an anti-ICE protest last week in Santa Ana, California, according to reports.
The blindings come amid rising scrutiny of federal authorities’ use-of-force policies, after the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer set off nationwide protests.
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How Trump’s promise to slash energy bills has failed across the US
Donald Trump has comprehensively failed to meet a key election promise to slash Americans’ energy bills in half within the first year of his presidency, with power prices instead surging across the US.
A Guardian analysis shows electricity bills were up 6.7% last year, and much higher in some states, and gas bills were up 5.2%.
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Trump buys $1m in Netflix and Warner Bros bonds
Donald Trump bought at least $1m worth of bonds in Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), according to a financial disclosure form, days after he said would “be involved” in a proposed merger between the two companies.
The White House released a financial disclosure report on Friday which showed that Trump made two purchases from Netflix and two purchases from WBD, each amounting to at least $502,000.
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Man accused of aiming laser at Trump helicopter acquitted in 35 minutes
A man tried on a felony charge of aiming a laser at presidential helicopter Marine One while it was transporting Donald Trump was acquitted by a jury in Washington DC – which reached its decision in about 35 minutes on Tuesday.
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RFK Jr’s new diet guidelines pose risks for health, experts say
The new food pyramid rolled out in US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) places animal-based proteins, including cheese and red meats high in saturated fats, above plant-based proteins, raising alarm bells among health and environmental experts.
This rejigged food pyramid is in line with Kennedy’s previous signals that he will recommend increasing saturated fat in US diets as part of the “make America healthy again” movement.
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Trans advocates say hostility at rallies is up as supreme court hears key case
As the US supreme court heard arguments on Tuesday for a case that could determine whether transgender children can participate in school sports – and potentially impact LGBTQ+ civil rights protections more broadly – competing groups of activists rallied in Washington DC.
In many ways, the scene looked like other DC rallies over trans and queer rights over the past decade. But the protests appeared to have a visible shift in the size, tone and aggression from the crowd opposing trans rights, advocates said.
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Explainer: Trump inauguration anniversary walkouts
On 20 January, the anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration, grassroots organizers are calling on people across the United States to walk out of their offices, schools and businesses to protest against the administration and call for “a free America”.
Here’s what you need to know about the planned walkouts.
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What else happened today:
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In an analysis piece, senior correspondent Lisa O’Carroll writes that Trump’s tariff threat is an attempt to divide Europe and quash opposition over Greenland.
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Rochelle Bilal, Philadelphia’s sheriff, has spoken about the viral speech she made about ICE in an 8 January press conference: “I’m just a girl from Philly trying to keep everybody safe.”
Catching up? Here’s what happened Friday 16 January.
