Donald Trump has landed in Switzerland ahead of meetings with other world leaders and a speech he’ll give this afternoon in Davos. So far, he doesn’t appear to be backing down on his plan to take Greenland. Watch and follow live below.
Wednesday 21 January 2026 13:13, UK
The US president’s helicopter, Marine One, has now touched down in snowy Davos.
Donald Trump is expected to emerge shortly after his delayed departure from the US due to a technical fault on his plane yesterday.
His speech at the World Economic Forum had originally been scheduled for 1.30pm.
Donald Trump is not making his way to Davos alone for his first in-person appearance at the World Economic Forum in six years.
The US president is bringing a large entourage of roughly 20 members of his staff with him.
Notably, secretary of state Marco Rubio, his chief of staff Susie Wiles, his deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and spokesperson Karoline Leavitt could be seen emerging from Air Force One after it landed in Zurich.
Last year, Trump merely gave a virtual address on the day after his inauguration and set out the America First approach that has shaped his foreign policy over his first 12 months in office.
Meanwhile, we’ve been hearing from EU leaders, who have been speaking in the European Parliament this morning.
Addressing the ongoing impasse with the US over Greenland, Ursula von der Leyen reiterated that the first pillar of EU action in Greenland will be a “massive investment surge”.
The president of the European Commission had already teased this move in her speech at Davos yesterday,
Von der Leyen added that the bloc will work with the US and all partners on the wider security of the Arctic, but warned Europe must be ready to change even faster to become more independent.
“We are at a crossroads. Europe prefers dialogue and solutions – but we are fully prepared to act, if necessary, with unity, urgency and determination,” she said.
“In this increasingly lawless world, Europe needs its own levers of power.
“We know them: A strong economy, a thriving single market and industrial base, a strong innovation and technology capacity, united societies and above all a real capacity to defend ourselves.”
Costa: EU stands against ‘any form of coercion’
The president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, who also addressed the parliament, said Donald Trump’s tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and are incompatible with the trade agreement between the EU and the US.
In his speech, Costa said the EU stands ready to defend itself, member states and citizens against “any form of coercion”.
By Diana Magnay, international correspondent
Air Force One has touched down in Zurich. The next leg of the US president’s journey will be by helicopter to Davos.
There’s hot anticipation there for his arrival, with a consortium of billionaires and deeply concerned politicians waiting to see what he says and to what extent he and his entourage hijack proceedings.
He’s been allocated one hour to talk – let’s see if he sticks to it.
The NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte seems to be aiming to placate for now, in terms of NATO’s response to Trump’s desire for Greenland, saying at a morning panel in Davos he thinks the US president is right to try to strengthen US security in the Arctic from Russian and Chinese influence.
Rutte refused to be drawn further in public.
Not that the Russians seem remotely concerned about Trump’s stated ambition to take it over, beyond saying he’ll go down in history if he manages it.
The Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s comments are more revealing. He said the EU has the means to defend itself “unequivocally” from a potential Russian attack and detailed Finland’s readiness, from conscription to further troops ready to mobilise, to the air force and other weaponry it has at its disposal.
Much of that still depends on US support and maintenance, though, to keep the fighter jets flying, for example.
Stubb thinks that’s not a blind spot, because it remains in the US interest to support Europe.
It would be a sorry day if it came to Europe needing to rely purely on itself to fend off Russia.
But the wrecking ball Trump seems to be bringing to international law and, potentially, the NATO alliance, puts that doomsday possibility just that bit closer.
Leaders must deal with ‘bully in playground’
Speaking to presenter Gareth Barlow, Magnay says “all the rules are out the window”.
“We are now in a world where power equals right, you take what you want as far as Donald Trump is concerned.
“All of those who have lived by the rules of the United Nations, international peace and security, are going to have to think again about how they deal with the bully in the playground, which Donald Trump clearly is.”
Watch her analysis…
The president has now left Air Force One, which touched down in Zurich a few minutes ago (see our post at 11.39).
Trump went on to board his helicopter, Marine One, and is now en route to Davos.
We’re waiting to see Donald Trump step out of Air Force One to begin his visit to Switzerland.
The US president will give a speech in Davos, at the World Economic Forum, later this afternoon.
Watch live at the top of this page as we build up to that speech and Trump’s meetings with other European leaders on the ongoing issue of Greenland.
Air Force One has now landed at the airport in Zurich, Switzerland, with Donald Trump on board.
It seems as though the president is now at least a couple of hours behind his original schedule.
Trump’s overnight plane journey to Switzerland had been disrupted by what the White House described as a minor electrical issue aboard Air Force One.
The aircraft returned to Washington not long after take-off, so the US president and members of the media could board another plane.
The president will now have to make his way to Davos, about 100 miles away, which he will likely do by helicopter.
Sophy Ridge and Wilfred Frost have this morning spoken to Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow of the Atlantic Council, on what to expect from Donald Trump’s Davos speech.
“We will have a written speech, but he has a tendency to go off script,” Braw said.
“So lots of world leaders, political leaders and business leaders will be nervous sitting that in the room in Davos.”
Braw also discussed how seriously Trump’s outbursts should be taken and why Mark Carney’s Davos speech will be referred to “for years to come”.
Watch her full remarks below…
“Let me be direct.”
That’s how Canadian PM Mark Carney began one passage of what is seen as one of the most significant speeches at Davos so far.
Carney notably warned about the threat posed by the US to the rest of the West.
Ahead of Donald Trump’s speech later today, let’s recap some of what Carney said.
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme global integration.”
In a stark speech, Carney didn’t name the likes of the US, but outlined the challenges posed to the West by Donald Trump and others.
He also suggested it was an “illusion” and “fiction” that there remains a rules-based international order.
Watch some of his remarks here…
As we reported earlier, Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos at 1.30pm today.
He is making his first in-person appearance in six years and will be leading the largest-ever US delegation to attend this year’s event.
Of course, this all comes as a diplomatic rift only appears to be deepening across the Atlantic over his constant threats towards Greenland.
Any nations not falling in line over his demands are also in his crosshairs, with the UK among European allies facing tariffs for their opposition to his aggressive stance on the territory.
And he’s speaking in the geographical heart of Europe, Switzerland.
He will be one of at least 64 heads of state who have travelled to the Swiss mountain resort and will be joined by US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Treasury secretary Scott Bessent.
Trump’s international negotiators, Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, will also be attending, as will roughly 20 other members of his administration.
While Trump hasn’t attended in six years, he gave a virtual address last year, the day after his inauguration, and set out the America First approach that has been a theme in his foreign policy over his first 12 months in office.
Our business and economics correspondent Paul Kelso said the recent US intervention in Venezuela has heightened economic and political uncertainty, which may make Davos a potential forum for negotiation while giving Trump a platform to underline his dominance of the international agenda.
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