Europe should be happy President Donald Trump was elected — despite his threats to take Greenland — because without him, it would never have stepped up for its own defense, according to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. 

‘I’m not popular with you now because I’m defending Donald Trump, but I really believe you can be happy that he is there because he has forced us in Europe to step up, to face the consequences that we have to take care of more of our own defense,’ Rutte said Wednesday in remarks at Davos, Switzerland.

‘No way, without Donald Trump, this would never have happened. They’re all on 2% now,’ he went on during a panel at the World Economic Forum. 

In 2014, NATO allies agreed to spend 2% of GDP on defense, but many fell short until recent years. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Trump’s threats not to defend NATO countries, most allies are meeting or exceeding the benchmark. 

They’ve now agreed to spend 5% GDP on defense and national security infrastructure.

‘I’m absolutely convinced without Donald Trump you would not have taken those decisions, and they are crucial, particularly for the European and the Canadian side of NATO to really grow up in the post-Cold War world.’

U.S. lawmakers previously criticized Rutte for his own country’s underspending on defense. Rutte was prime minister of the Netherlands from 2010 to 2024. 

Rutte argued the U.S. is still committed to Europe’s defense, and the nuclear umbrella is the ultimate defense guarantee.

‘The Americans still have over 80,000 soldiers in Europe … including in Poland and Germany, and so they are still heavily invested in European defense. And yes, they have to pivot more towards Asia. So it is only logical for them to expect us, Europe, to step up over time,’ he said.

He also added Greenland is not the ‘main issue’ and Europe should not let it distract from Ukraine’s defense. 

‘The risk here is that we focus, of course, on Greenland, because we have to make sure that issue gets solved in an amicable way,’ he said. ‘But the main issue is not Greenland. Now, the main issue is Ukraine. I’m also a little bit worried that we might drop the ball focusing so much on these other issues.’

‘This focus on Ukraine should be our top priority,’ he said. ‘Ukraine has to come first because it is crucial to our European and American security.’

Rutte repeatedly has praised Trump, in June calling him ‘daddy’ of the NATO alliance. 

‘Daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get them to stop,’ he said in reference to fighting between Israel and Iran.

Other European leaders have expressed more concern about Trump’s Greenland ambitions. On Wednesday Trump, for the first time, ruled out taking Greenland by force. 

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said a U.S. takeover of Greenland would mean the ‘end of NATO,’ the nearly 80-year-old defense alliance. 

Trump spoke at the Davos, Switzerland, conference Wednesday after threatening Europe with tariffs over the Greenland dispute.

This week the president told Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in a text message he ‘no longer thinks purely of peace’ in his desire to own Greenland.

Trump wrote: ‘Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.’

‘I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States,’ Trump wrote. ‘The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.’

Lisa Cook’s ascension to the Federal Reserve was historic from the start. 

Appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022, she became the first Black woman to serve as a Fed board governor, the seven-member panel that sets national interest rates and oversees the banking system.

Now, she stands at the center of another historic moment, as President Donald Trump attempts to fire her — a move the Federal Reserve has never faced in its 112-year history.

Cook’s legal fight traces back to late August, when Trump said he was firing her from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. 

He alleged she misrepresented information tied to a trio of mortgages she obtained before joining the central bank. Cook has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.

She sued Trump in federal court in Washington, D.C., to block her removal. On Sept. 9, a district court judge barred Trump from firing her while the case proceeds, a decision later upheld by a federal appeals court.

Before joining the Fed board, the Oxford alumna and UC Berkeley–trained economist built a career in academia, including faculty roles at Harvard University and Michigan State University.

A graduate of Spelman College, Cook has been described by American economist Barry Eichengreen as ‘part economist and historian,’ with command of several languages, including French, Russian, Spanish and Wolof — a widely spoken language in Senegal.

Cook has also held senior roles in government, serving as a senior economist on then-President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2011 to 2012. 

Before that, she served as a senior adviser on finance and development in the Treasury Department’s Office of International Affairs. 

She joined the Fed board in May 2022 and was reappointed in September 2023 for a term that runs through January 2038, a tenure now under scrutiny as the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments Wednesday. 

The court is expected to issue a ruling by this summer.

President Donald Trump blasted European nations for not being ‘recognizable’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos Wednesday. 

‘I don’t want to insult anybody and say I don’t recognize it,’ Trump said during his special address Wednesday. ‘And that’s not in a positive way. That’s in a very negative way. And I love Europe and I want to see Europe do good, but it’s not heading in the right direction.’

‘In recent decades, it became conventional wisdom in Washington and European capitals that the only way to grow a modern Western economy was through ever-increasing government spending, unchecked mass migration, and endless foreign imports,’ Trump said. 

Trump then said that issues like energy, trade, immigration and economic growth must be ‘central concerns to anyone who wants to see a strong and united West.’ 

Trump’s comments come as tensions between the U.S. and European allies have escalated, after Trump has renewed his ambitions to acquire Greenland and has threatened to impose tariffs on European allies who don’t back those efforts.

In response to a group of NATO members dispatching troops to Greenland after Trump resurrected his plans to take over the island, the president announced Saturday that those countries would be subjected to a 10% tariff on all goods starting Feb. 1. 

Those tariffs would increase to 25% in June, until a deal is reached for Trump to secure Greenland, according to Trump. 

Trump’s comments in Davos echo previous statements Vice President JD Vance made at the Munich Security Conference in February 2025. There, Vance cautioned that Russia and China don’t pose as great a threat to European nations as the ‘threat from within,’ citing censorship and illegal immigration. 

Additionally, Vance said that European voters didn’t endorse opening the ‘floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants.’

European leaders bucked at Vance’s comments, and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said shortly after Vance delivered the statement that he perceived the statements as a comparison to ‘conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regimes.’

Trump previously attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, twice during his first term, according to the State Department’s records. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

As President Donald Trump escalates his efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark, the latest national polls reveal that most Americans oppose taking over the massive and crucially strategic island that lies between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

Trump is holding crucial talks Wednesday on Greenland with NATO allies during a quick stop in Davos, Switzerland.

On the eve of his trip, the president said there is ‘no going back’ on his efforts to take over Greenland. Asked at a White House news conference how far he’d go to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory, Trump said: ‘You’ll find out.’ The president has also threatened tariffs against NATO members.

In his speech at Davos, the president said: ‘I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.’ But Trump added, ‘I don’t want to use force.’

But Trump’s moves are facing opposition from Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill, and the most recent surveys suggest there’s little appetite among Americans to take over the island.

Eighty-six percent of voters nationwide questioned in a Quinnipiac University poll released last week said they would oppose military action to take over Greenland.

That includes 95% of Democrats, 94% of Independents and even more than two-thirds (68%) of Republicans surveyed by Quinnipiac Jan. 8-12.

Three-quarters of Americans questioned in a CNN poll conducted at the same time said they opposed a U.S. takeover of Greenland. Ninety-four percent of Democrats and eight in 10 Independents said they would oppose such a move, with Republicans split 50%-50%.

Separately, only 14% surveyed in a CBS News poll conducted Jan. 14–16 said they would approve the use of military force to take the island.

Meanwhile, by a 55%-37% margin, voters questioned in the Quinnipiac survey said they opposed any U.S. effort to try and buy Greenland.

But there’s a stark political divide on this question, with the vast majority of Democrats and nearly six in 10 Independents opposed to buying Greenland, and more than two-thirds of Republicans supporting such efforts.

Trump has said in social media posts that ‘The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of national security,’ and that ‘anything less’ than U.S. control of the island is ‘unacceptable.’

But the president’s push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland is causing massive tensions with Denmark and other NATO nations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to publicly testify on the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela in the Senate next week.

Returning to his old stomping grounds in the Senate has become fairly routine for Rubio over the last few months, particularly as lawmakers have demanded more transparency over the administration’s actions in Venezuela and the Caribbean.

And once again, Rubio will appear on the Hill when the Senate returns from recess next week, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. He is scheduled to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 28 at 10 a.m.

The hearing before the panel comes after Rubio acted as a key figure to convince a pair of holdouts — Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. — to flip their votes and kill an attempt by Senate Democrats to rein in President Donald Trump’s war authorities last week.

Their primary concerns were that the administration would put boots on the ground in the region, and that Congress should have a say if that were the case.

Through assurances, guarantees and an agreement to publicly testify on the matter, Rubio appeared to win them over.

Young said at the time that he had to ‘accept that this was a communications exercise,’ but noted that it was a moment used to ‘shine a bright light on Congress’ shortcomings as it relates to war powers in recent history.’

Rubio also wrote to Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch, R-Idaho, ahead of the vote last week to spell out that the administration would clue in Congress should any future military action take place in the region.

He then re-upped that same message to Young, where he said that should Trump ‘determine that he intends to introduce U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities in major military operations in Venezuela, he would seek congressional authorization in advance (circumstances permitting).’

Still, despite these guarantees to Republicans, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who sits on the committee, plans to continue his quest to corral Trump’s war authorities.

Kaine said before lawmakers left Washington that he planned to ‘file every one I can to challenge emergencies, to challenge unlawful wars, to seek human rights reports, arms transfers if they’re wrong.’

President Donald Trump has Europe on edge as he prepares to meet with foreign leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday and Thursday at the World Economic Forum.

The World Economic Forum is a Switzerland-based organization that convenes global political leaders, business executives, academics and activists each year in Davos to discuss major economic, political and social issues, with the U.S. and Trump expected to take center stage this year. Leaders from Germany to France to Norway and beyond are expected to attend. 

Calls for the U.S. to acquire Greenland and tariff threats loom over the event as Trump puts European allies on notice to reach a deal on the island by Feb. 1 or face the consequences. Goods from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom will face a 10% tariff if no deal is reached by February, with the taxes increasing to 25% by June 1 if there is no deal. 

Top European leaders have balked over Trump’s demands to make a deal on Greenland, citing that NATO allies can work together to ensure the Arctic is secure. Greenland is a self-governing Danish territory nestled between North America and Europe in the Arctic Circle. 

Trump wants to acquire the island — the largest island in the world –—from a national security standpoint, noting Russia’s and China’s growing presence in the Arctic. Greenland as a pivotal outpost during the Cold War because it was along the shortest routes between North America and the Soviet Union, allowing for speedy missile detection. 

The World Economic Forum kicked off Monday, with some European leaders questioning their relationship with the U.S. as tariff threats loom. The threats follow the U.S. and EU reaching a comprehensive trade framework in 2025 that fixed a 15% tariff level on most EU exports. 

‘The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July,’ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said from Davos on Monday, according to The Associated Press. ‘And in politics as in business — a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.’

‘We consider the people of the United States not just our allies, but our friends. And plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape,’ she added.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said from a press conference in Nuuk ahead of the forum that there needs to be respect for ‘territorial integrity.’ 

‘International law, it’s not a game,’ he said. ‘We have been a close and loyal ally to the United States, to NATO, through many, many, many years. We can do lots more in that framework. We are willing to cooperate much more, but of course in mutual respect, and if we cannot see that, it will be very difficult to have a good and reliable partnership.’

Trump is set to hold a signing ceremony for the Gaza Board of Peace in Davos, Fox News confirmed Tuesday, which is styled as a new oversight body tied to the next phase of the Gaza peace plan. ‘Dozens’ of countries have been invited to join the board, Fox News confirmed. 

Some invited countries, however, have raised concerns about the terms of the proposed Gaza peace board, as participation would come with a substantial financial commitment, adding to the heightened tensions at the forum, Bloomberg reported. 

French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, has increasingly become a target for Trump’s criticisms and denied membership on the board. 

Macron’s office said the Board of Peace proposal ‘goes beyond the framework of Gaza and raises serious questions, in particular with respect to the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be called into question,’ according to Politico. 

Trump threatened additional tariffs on France when asked about Macron’s refusal to join the board. 

‘I’ll put a 200 percent tariff on his wines and Champagnes and he’ll join. But he doesn’t have to join,’ Trump told reporters on Monday. 

Trump is expected to kick off his first day in Davos at about 8 a.m. EST for a day of events and meetings, before returning to the U.S. Thursday. 

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report. 

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — a Republican who left office earlier this year after a falling out with President Donald Trump last year — poured cold water on the president’s ambitions to add Greenland to the U.S.

‘We are approaching $40 Trillion in debt and Social Security is going to be insolvent by 2033. Is anyone even talking about how much it’s going to cost the American people to take over Greenland?’ Greene asked in a Tuesday post on X.

‘Saying it’s ‘for your safety’ is not sufficient. We’ve heard that one before and it didn’t turn out so well,’ she added.

The U.S. national debt is more than $38.46 trillion, according to fiscaldata.treasury.gov.

Trump has said the U.S. needs to acquire Greenland as a matter of national security.

‘The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building,’ he asserted in part of a Truth Social post last week.

‘China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it,’ he declared in part of another Truth Social post last week. 

‘Nobody will touch this sacred piece of Land, especially since the National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake,’ he asserted. ‘Now, because of The Golden Dome, and Modern Day Weapons Systems, both Offensive and Defensive, the need to ACQUIRE is especially important.’

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is calling for bipartisanship on a key vote that could lead to former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton facing criminal charges.

Comer will ask Democrats to join Republicans in teeing up House-wide votes on holding the Clintons in contempt of Congress on Wednesday, after both defied subpoenas to appear for his committee’s probe into Jeffrey Epstein.

‘The Committee does not take this action lightly. But subpoenas are not mere suggestions; they carry the force of law and require compliance,’ Comer will say, according to an excerpt obtained by Fox News Digital. ‘Former President Clinton and Secretary Clinton were legally required to appear for depositions before this Committee. They refused.’

Comer’s statement will also argue the committee ‘acted in good faith’ in trying to schedule the depositions but that ‘actions have consequences.’

‘We’ve offered flexibility on scheduling. The response we received was not cooperation, but defiance, marked by repeated delays, excuses, and obstruction,’ Comer will say. ‘Today, the Clintons must be held accountable for their actions. And Democrats must support these measures, or they will be exposed as hypocrites.’

The committee is meeting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday to mark up a pair of reports on holding the Clintons in contempt. 

If they pass — which they are expected to do, largely along party lines — it will pave the way for the full House to vote on whether to refer the Clintons to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for prosecution.

‘We must do what is necessary to uphold Congress’s investigative authority, which is imperative to the legislative process,’ Comer will say. ‘And we are doing so to demonstrate to the American people that justice is applied equally to everyone, regardless of position, pedigree, or prestige.’

A contempt of Congress conviction is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to one year in jail.

Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, associates of President Donald Trump, were each found guilty of the charge after defying subpoenas sent by the now-defunct House select committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The Clintons were two of 10 people Comer subpoenaed over the summer as part of the Oversight Committee’s probe into Epstein. But despite the initial bipartisan push, the investigation has fallen into partisan infighting as both sides accuse the other of politicizing the probe at the expense of Epstein’s victims.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the committee, accused Comer of hypocrisy in trying to hold the Clintons accountable while not pushing harder to enforce the subpoena aimed at forcing the DOJ to release all of its Epstein files, which it has not yet done.

‘I think it’s incredibly hypocritical for James Comer to go out and try to hold in contempt his political enemies while [Attorney General Pam Bondi] is actively breaking the law, and he refuses to hold her in contempt,’ Garcia told MS NOW last week.

Comer also issued a statement on Tuesday stating that he rejected an offer from Bill Clinton’s lawyer for himself and Garcia to sit down with the former president in New York, for an interview without an ‘official transcript.’

‘The House Oversight Committee rejects the Clintons’ unreasonable demands and will move forward with contempt resolutions on Wednesday due to their continued defiance of lawful subpoenas,’ Comer said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he would join President Donald Trump’s new Board of Peace, after previously criticizing the makeup of its executive committee.

Netanyahu confirmed that he would join the newly established Board of Peace, which the Trump administration says will supervise the next phase of the Gaza peace plan.

The Israeli prime minister’s announcement comes after he initially pushed back on Trump’s proposal, following the inclusion of Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi as appointed members to a separate ‘Gaza Executive Board.’

Netanyahu’s office said that move was not coordinated with Israel and ‘runs contrary to its policy.’

The announcement coincides with Trump’s trip to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where he is expected to provide more details about the board. Fox News confirmed that the president is planning to arrange a signing ceremony for the Gaza Board of Peace during his visit.

On Tuesday, when asked if the board should replace the United Nations, Trump said, ‘It might.’

Trump said that the world body ‘hasn’t been very helpful’ and ‘has never lived up to its potential,’ but added that the U.N. should continue to exist ‘because the potential is so great.’

On Jan. 16, the White House said the Board of Peace will play an ‘essential role’ in carrying out all 20 points of the president’s Gaza plan, including providing strategic oversight, mobilizing international resources and ensuring accountability as Gaza transitions from conflict to peace and development.

Dozens of countries have been invited, with notices going out over the weekend, according to officials, including Belarus, China, Ukraine, India, Canada, Argentina, Jordan, Egypt, Hungary, and Vietnam, among others.

Others, including the executive arm of the European Union, confirmed that they have received invitations, but have not responded.

On Monday, Trump confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin received an invitation to join the new board.

The Kremlin said Putin had received the invitation and was ‘studying the details,’ adding it will seek clarity on ‘all the nuances’ in communications with the U.S. government.

France also received an invitation, but does not plan to join ‘at this stage,’ according to a French official close to President Emmanuel Macron.

The White House has said Trump will chair the Board of Peace and be joined by senior political, diplomatic and business figures, including Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, and billionaire Marc Rowan.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion, Ashley Carnahan, Gillian Turner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she believes America is ready for a woman president, pushing back on recent comments by former first lady Michelle Obama, who said U.S. voters were not ready to elect a woman to the White House.

In an interview with NPR released on Tuesday, Whitmer said she has ‘love’ for the former first lady and ‘the last thing I want to do is disagree with her,’ but that she has a different perspective.

‘I think America is ready for a woman president,’ Whitmer said. ‘The question comes down to a choice between two people, and what we saw in this last election, while Kamala Harris didn’t beat President Trump, we saw women get elected across the country.’

‘We saw women win up and down the ballot in hard, important states to win, so I do think there’s an appetite,’ she added. ‘I just, for whatever reason, we have not had a woman president yet. I think we will at some point in the near future.’

The governor cited the election victories last year for Democratic Govs. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherill in New Jersey, as well as Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., in 2024.

In November, Obama said Americans are ‘not ready’ to elect a woman to the White House, pointing to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ election loss to President Donald Trump in the last presidential election.

‘As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,’ the former first lady said at the Brooklyn Academy of Music at the time while promoting her book, ‘The Look.’

‘That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running, because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. You are not … We’ve got a lot of growing up to do, and there’s still, sadly, a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman, and we saw it,’ she added.

Pressed on whether Harris lost to Trump in the presidential election because she is a woman, Whitmer responded: ‘I don’t think it was just gender, no.’

Whitmer, who is term limited and cannot seek a third term as governor, said she does not currently have plans to run for another office.

She has been floated as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, but the governor said her focus remains on serving Michigan and helping her party’s candidates win the upcoming midterm elections.

Asked about how Democrats could win in the midterms this year, Whitmer pointed to her gubernatorial campaign’s decision to remain ‘focused on the fundamentals.’

‘I don’t think Michigan is unique in that,’ Whitmer said. ‘I think every person in this country wants and expects government to make their lives better, and so that’s been our formula here in Michigan and I think that can be replicated everywhere successfully.’