The Daily Populous Tuesday January 20th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by forbes.com and submitted by badchik

Topline President Donald Trump shared text messages purportedly sent to him by his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, addressing his push for the U.S. to take control of Greenland as the president appeared to double down on this demand. U.S. President Donald Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in the Oval Office at the White House. Getty Images

In a Truth Social post titled, “Note from President Emmanuel Macron, of France,” Trump shared a screenshot of a text that read: “My friend, We are totally in line on Syria, We can do great things on Iran, I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland.” In the message, Macron offered to set up a G7 meeting after in Paris later this week after the Davos summit and wrote: “I can invite the ukrainians, the danish, the syrians and the russians in the margins.” Élysée Palace has yet to comment on the veracity of the message, but an unnamed source close to Macron confirmed to CNN that it was sent by the French President. It is unclear why Trump has chosen to share the private text message on social media, but it comes after Macron has criticized Trump’s Greenland stance and labeled his new tariff threats over it “unacceptable.” Trump also shared a private message purportedly from Rutte, praising Trump’s accomplishments in Syria and promising to use his media engagements at Davos to highlight his work in Gaza and Ukraine. Rutte ended the text saying he is “committed to finding a way forward on Greenland,” without any further context.

What Else Has Trump Said About Greenland?

Commenting on reports about the letter he sent to the Norwegian Prime Minister, in which Trump linked his recent aggressive stance on taking over Greenland to his not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump told reporters he doesn’t “care about the Nobel Prize.” The president then added, “First of all, a very fine woman felt that I deserved it and really wanted me to have the Nobel Prize. And I appreciate that,” he added. This was in reference to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado's decision to present him with her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal last week, even though the award is not transferable. Trump then doubled down on his stance that Denmark is incapable of protecting Greenland and questioned their sovereignty over the territory once again. “They can’t protect it. Denmark…And you know, because the boat went there 500 years ago and then left, that doesn’t give you title to property. So we’ll be talking about it with the various people,” Trump told reporters in Miami.

The president appeared to double down on his intent to take control of Greenland as he shared what appeared to be an AI-generated image of himself planting an American flag in the Arctic territory with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio standing alongside. Trump also shared another AI-generated image of him sitting in the Oval Office, addressing top leaders from Europe, along with a map of the Western hemisphere showing all of Canada, Greenland and Venezuela as part of U.S. territory.

What Did Trump Say About The Uk And Diego Garcia?

In a separate post on Truth Social, Trump bashed another key American ally, the U.K., over its decision to transfer the sovereignty of Diego Garcia—an island in the Indian Ocean that houses a British American military base—to Mauritius. The president wrote: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.” Trump said “China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness. These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH.” Trump then added: “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. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.” Last year, the U.K. signed an agreement to transfer the Chagos Archipelago, a group of islands including Diego Garcia, to Mauritius, recognizing its long-time claim. The agreement however, included a 99-year lease allowing U.K. to maintain control of the military base on Diego Garcia itself.

Trumps Ties Greenland Threats To Him Not Winning Nobel Peace Prize In Letter To Norway’s Leader (Forbes)

Trump Announces 10% Tariffs On European Countries Supporting Greenland (Forbes)

nNotaSs on January 20th, 2026 at 11:28 UTC »

For whoever doesn't want to enter the link:

“My friend, We are totally in line on Syria, We can do great things on Iran, I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland.”

Edit: adding full Macron text message by request.

EM Emmanuel Macron Today From président Macron to President Trump My friend, We are totally in line on Syria We can do great things on lran I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland Let us try to build great things: 1)i can set up a g7 meeting after Davos in Paris on thursday afternoon. I can invite the ukrainians, the danish, the syrians and the russians in the margins 2) let us have a dinner together in Paris together on thursday before you go back to the us Emmanuel

jews4beer on January 20th, 2026 at 10:07 UTC »

The crazy shit that's getting overlooked here...It used to be that discussions between world leaders involved scheduled phone-calls/meetings with multiple people in the administration involved.

Trump is literally just texting other world leaders in his free time. Undoubtedly from his insecure phone a lot of the time. It makes me wonder how many times he's just gone full crazy ex and stayed up all night text bombing EU leaders.

Deicide1031 on January 20th, 2026 at 10:02 UTC »

Starting to think he’s too afraid to try to leave NATO on his own so he’s trying to trigger the collapse of NATO indirectly. No other reason to act like this even if he is an idiot and Europes restraint indicates they know what he’s doing.

The man is clearly so compromised that America’s Allies are pulling punches because they know his intent. Where is Congress?