UK’s ‘stupid’ Chagos deal among reasons Donald Trump says he wants Greenland

Donald Trump has suggested Britain’s decision to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is among the reasons he wants to take over Greenland.

The US president, who is travelling to Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday for the World Economic Forum, made the claim as he ramped up his rhetoric on acquiring the Arctic territory.

Mr Trump fired off a flurry of posts on his Truth Social platform overnight on Tuesday about taking over Greenland, which is a territory of America’s Nato ally, the Kingdom of Denmark.

In one post he described the Chagos deal as an “act of GREAT STUPIDITY”, in an about-turn of his previous attitude to the decision, which he supported last year.

Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands – a small archipelago in the Indian Ocean – is home to a strategically important military base jointly used by the US and the UK.

Britain has paid Mauritius to lease back Diego Garcia and the base for at least 99 years under the terms of the deal.

Mr Trump’s sudden public broadside to Sir Keir Starmer comes on the first anniversary of his inauguration as President, January 20.

It stands in contrast with the calm approach the PM and other European leaders have attempted to take towards the US president in recent weeks over his ambitions to own Greenland.

Writing on Truth Social at an early hour of the morning US time, Mr Trump said: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ Nato Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.

“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness. These are International Powers who only recognise STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before.

“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.”

In another post on Truth Social, Mr Trump shared what appeared to be an AI generated image of he and his vice president JD Vance planting a US flag on a snowy landscape with a signpost that reads “Greenland, US territory, est 2026”.

A further post showed a doctored image of the US president meeting European leaders in the White House, with a map that highlighted the US, Canada and Greenland in the colours of the American flag.

Darren Jones, a senior minister, would not be drawn into saying whether he believed Mr Trump’s claims would change the Chagos deal.

The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister told Sky News: “We’ve done a deal with the Mauritian government, we’ve legislated for the process, we’ve agreed the terms of the treaty which has been signed.

“This is the way in which to secure that military base for the next 100 years.”

He also suggested Sir Keir was unlikely to travel to Davos for the World Economic Forum to meet Mr Trump.

Opposition parties, who were united behind the Prime Minister when he branded Mr Trump’s Greenland proposals as “completely wrong”, welcomed Mr Trump’s intervention.

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: “President Trump has said what we’ve said all along – Labour’s £35bn Chagos Surrender is a bad deal for Britain and bad for our national security.

“We’ve opposed it from day one and it’s time Starmer put the security of our country first and scrap his rotten deal.”

And Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “Thank goodness Trump has vetoed the surrender of the Chagos islands.”