President Donald Trump signaled a willingness to impose steep trade penalties on French President Emmanuel Macron if he refuses to join a proposed international “board of peace” linked to Greenland, while also asserting that Macron’s impending departure from office reduces his relevance to the process.
In an interview with reporters, Trump dismissed concerns over Macron’s response, saying, “Well, did he say that? Nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon. That’s all right. What I’ll do is, if they feel hostile, I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagne, and he’ll join. But he doesn’t have to join. If he did say that, you’re probably telling it to me a little differently. But as you know, he’s going out of office in a few months.”
Reporter: Have you invited Putin to be a member of the board of peace?
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 20, 2026
Trump: Yes
Reporter: Can you respond to Macron saying he will not join the board of peace?
Trump: Nobody wants him… I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and he’ll join pic.twitter.com/A3a1fXybks
Trump also confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been invited to participate in discussions, describing him as “one of the world leaders” involved in the process.
The remarks come amid the U.S. president’s renewed push to secure Greenland, which has been met with firm resistance from Danish and Greenlandic officials. Trump has repeatedly argued that the island is strategically vital for national and global security, while European leaders have largely rejected any notion of U.S. acquisition.
During the interview, Trump also reflected on what he described as the successes of his administration over the past year, emphasizing economic gains and improvements in inflation. “We took our country from failure—with open borders, no business, everything going badly, terrible inflation, the highest inflation in history, prices through the roof—and we brought prices down. We now have very little inflation, a great economy, and prices are coming down even further,” he said.
The combination of aggressive trade threats and a public framing of Greenland as a matter of security underscores Trump’s broader strategy to pressure European leaders into alignment with his Arctic ambitions, while simultaneously promoting his record on domestic economic issues as part of his ongoing political messaging.
