What to Know
It looks like Donald Trump is really pushing for Greenland, despite literally everything else going on, both domestically and abroad, at his doing. On Jan. 16, 2026, he posted on Truth Social that he is officially the “Tariff King” and shared what was probably supposed to be an intimidating black and white photo of him in the Oval Office. The title he bestowed upon himself is in reference to his promise (or, really, his threat) to impose more tariffs on other countries if he doesn’t get what he wants.
If it sounds like the antics of a child rather than the leader of the Free World, yeah, you aren’t alone in that line of thinking. And, because Trump made good on his original plans for tariffs on goods entering the United States from specific countries, it’s not exactly an empty threat. It’s just hard to figure out exactly why it always has to come back to being the king of something.
Yep, Trump still believes he is the “king” of something.
Just in case you need a bit of a refresher on the latest episode of America: The Reality Show, Trump wants to acquire Greenland as the 51st state in the U.S. According to the BBC, it all stems from Greenland’s position in the Arctic and the possibility that the U.S. military could set it up to alert the U.S. of any missile strikes. The country also has natural resources like uranium, oil, gas, and iron.
Now, Trump had called himself the Tariff King because of his penchant for earning tariffs on goods from different countries. Never mind the potential economic ramifications for actual Americans who are affected by Trump’s tariffs, though.
At a White House meeting on Jan. 16, 2026, Trump told reporters that he is prepared to punish the countries that don’t support his acquisition of Greenland. Someone needs to tell him that countries are not companies, and running the country is not akin to being the CEO of a corporation and acquiring other companies to create some sort of monopoly. Will someone actually tell him that? Unlikely.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at the White House meeting.
Trump mentioned Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland as countries he would enforce new tariffs on, should their leaders not back his plans to take Greenland.
In a Reddit thread about Trump’s plans for Greenland, most users were in agreement that it’s Trump’s way of dismantling NATO for his own benefit.
Someone else in the thread added that they think it’s about Trump’s accolades.
“Trump policies are highly targeted towards earning personal fame and being the center of attention rather than national interest, like him being after [the] Nobel prize or the time he claimed to be the one who stopped [the] Indo-Pak conflict in 2025 and so on,” they commented.
And the whole tariff threat? It appears to be Trump’s way of stomping his feet and saying, “C’mon, gimme. I want it.”
