Donald Trump held a press conference to showcase his achievements over the past year, covering the economy and immigration enforcement, while reaffirming his position on Greenland, expressing confidence that the matter will proceed well.
U.S. President Donald Trump attended a daily press briefing at the White House on Tuesday, 20 Jan 2026 GMT+7, amid heightened tensions with Europe over Greenland and threats of new U.S. tariff measures.
Trump took the podium holding a large folder he called his “list of achievements,” displaying some documents to those in the room, mostly outlining immigration policies over the past 12 months.
He also displayed photographs of individuals arrested in Minnesota, claiming these people were “illegal immigrant criminals.”
The U.S. president said he would soon be traveling to a “beautiful place in Switzerland,” which drew light laughter from the press room before he added, “I’m confident people will be happy to welcome me.”
Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, tomorrow, where his threat to seize Greenland by force is drawing widespread criticism.
French President Emmanuel Macron told world leaders in Davos that the “endless new tariff measures” from the U.S. are “completely unacceptable,” while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney similarly stated his “strong opposition” to tariffs related to Greenland.
Trump briefly mentioned Venezuela, referring to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who awarded him her Nobel Peace Prize when she met with him earlier this month.
“Maybe we can involve her in some way,” Trump said, praising Machado as an “incredibly wonderful woman.”
Trump then spoke about immigration law enforcement in Minnesota, stating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had detained more than 10,000 undocumented residents, calling them “criminals” and “the worst of the worst.”
Before Trump began his remarks, officials distributed a press release highlighting “365 victories in 365 days” by the president, the top achievement being a net negative immigration rate for the first time in decades.
However, Trump expressed multiple condolences over the shooting death of Rene Good by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis two weeks ago, calling it a “difficult situation” and “very sad.”
He added that he felt “very bad” knowing Good’s father was a strong supporter of his and acknowledged that sometimes ICE may “make mistakes” and be “too harsh on people.”
Trump’s comments contrast sharply with other White House officials, such as Vice President J.D. Vance and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who labeled Good a “terrorist” intending to use her car to attack ICE agents.
Regarding import tariffs, Trump said he visited a Ford plant in Michigan, which he claimed was on the verge of closing two years ago but now operates 24 hours a day, crediting tariffs for this turnaround, though he expressed uncertainty about the Supreme Court's ruling on the matter.
“We’ve collected hundreds of billions of dollars, and if we lose the case, we might have to find ways to repay that money,” Trump said, adding he was unsure how to do so without harming many people. He asserted that the U.S. now enjoys great national security and no inflation because of these tariffs.
When asked about Americans who feel the economy has not improved, Trump insisted he inherited “terrible chaos” from former President Joe Biden and claimed his actions since taking office are a “miracle” and a “beautiful picture,” adding that “prices are dropping significantly.”
However, economic data from September 2025 shows U.S. inflation reached 3% for the first time since January 2025, while consumer confidence fell to its lowest since April due to concerns over living costs, employment, and the broader economy.
Although prices for oil and eggs have fallen, prices for other foods have risen, and Americans remain dissatisfied with housing, childcare, and medical service costs.
Trump lamented that he has not received credit for boosting the stock market and complained about lack of media coverage of his efforts to lower prescription drug costs, blaming the press for ignoring these stories.
He also said he has not been sufficiently credited for reducing inflation inherited from Joe Biden, suggesting he might have a poor public relations team as the message hasn’t reached people effectively. “We inherited very high inflation numbers and have brought them down a lot,” he said.
However, federal data released last month showed inflation in December 2025 rose 2.7% compared to the same period the previous year.
Trump then spoke about wars he claims to have ended, such as the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, before alleging that Norway controls the Nobel Peace Prize. “Norway is behind it all... it’s a total joke.”
“My faith in Norway has greatly diminished,” Trump told reporters later, revealing he believes Norway controls the prize.
Trump said Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, told him she did not deserve the award but that he did, quoting her as saying, “President Trump deserves it because he ended eight wars.”
The U.S. leader added he has ended eight wars and finds conflict resolution easy, emphasizing, “I’m not doing it for the Nobel Prize,” while noting he is currently trying to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Yet Trump insists, “Norway has enormous control over the Nobel Prize, no matter how much they deny it.”
It should be noted that the Nobel Prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee, not the Norwegian government.
The U.S. leader claimed no one has done more for NATO than he has. “I think most people there would tell you that... You can ask the NATO Secretary General about this... We spend huge amounts on NATO, and I know we will help them, but I wonder if they will help us.”
Trump cited success in getting NATO member states to agree to raise defense spending contributions to 5% of GDP from the previous 2%.
“They’re buying lots from us and sending it to Ukraine,” Trump said. “NATO will be happy, and so will we... We need it for global security.”
When asked if he remains committed to U.S. NATO membership, Trump replied that he has maintained good relations with other NATO members and that the alliance has become “much stronger” since he took office.
“Whether you like it or not,” Trump said, “NATO is only as strong as we (the U.S.) are, and without the U.S., it isn’t very strong.”
After speaking for over an hour, Trump opened the floor for questions. The first was about his plan to establish a “Board of Peace” and whether he intends for it to replace the United Nations.
The U.S. president said, “That might be possible,” accusing the UN of “not helping much” despite some potential, and stated that he never relied on the UN to end any wars.
Reporters asked Trump about a Truth Social post where he called the UK's agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back a key military base “an incredibly stupid act,” questioning if his stance had changed since he previously supported the UK’s plan.
Trump replied that initially, the UK talked about “ownership concepts,” but now it has turned into an attempt to “lease and sell it off,” which he opposes.
He emphasized that the Chagos Islands are not like Greenland but are still globally important, and he believes the UK should retain them.
Reporters asked Trump about his threat to impose tariffs in response to opposition to the Greenland issue and what would happen if the Supreme Court rules his tariff measures unlawful.
“We would have to sue on something else,” he said, adding, “What we’re doing now is the best, strongest, fastest, and least complicated way.”
He also said, “We have several meetings scheduled about Greenland, and I think everything will go very well.”
When asked how far he would go to acquire Greenland, Trump replied, “You’ll find out.”
When questioned about Greenlanders expressing clear opposition to becoming part of the U.S., Trump said that after talking with them, he is confident they will be excited and pleased.
Follow international news:https://www.thairath.co.th/news/foreign
Source:bbc