Donald Trump’s announcement that he has reached an agreement with Nato allies on Greenland dominates Thursday’s papers. The Times leads with the US president announcing a “framework deal” has been reached after talks with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, saying it “gives us everything we needed to get”.
The Financial Times says the US president signalled there would be “additional discussions” on Greenland’s role in the Golden Dome, a planned missile defence system to protect the US from all missile attacks.
In light of the deal, the Guardian says Donald Trump is stepping back from his threat to impose tariffs on European allies who opposed his acquisition of Greenland.
As a result of Donald Trump’s climbdown from his tariff threat, markets in the US have rallied, with stocks surging back on Wednesday, reports the Daily Mail. Elsewhere, the paper continues to tease more details from the Beckham family row.
“It’s a Don deal” says the Daily Star, as it calls the Greenland saga “manbaby mayhem”.
Despite the easing of tensions, the i Paper quotes a senior Nato official warning that “if we don’t give Greenland to the US they will stop supporting Ukraine”.
The Daily Telegraph fills its front page with a picture of a smiling Donald Trump in its coverage. Elsewhere, the paper highlights one of the US president’s jibes at the audience during his speech at the World Economic Forum: “You’d all be speaking German if it wasn’t for us.”
The Independent follows with more details of the US president’s speech in Davos, where he insisted the US must own Arctic territory in order for its national security. The paper sums up his remarks with the headline: “All I want is a piece of ice.”
The Daily Mirror describes Donald Trump’s Davos speech as a “delusional rant” during which he insisted that European leaders “loved him” before his Greenland ambitions. The paper also dubs him “Daddy fool”, a play on the Boney M 1970s hit.
Moving to news closer to home, the Daily Express reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been criticised by the Tories for costing the UK jobs after it emerged that pubs will face “years of huge tax rises”. The party is accusing Reeves of “shutting up shop” in the nation’s High Streets after the Treasury said tax relief to help landlords cope with increases to business rates will “slowly unwind” over the next three years.
The Metro carries a report from an ongoing court case in London where a jury heard that a friend of Donald Trump’s son Barron said he saved her life during an attack. The paper says the US president’s youngest son called police after seeing his friend being assaulted by her former boyfriend during a FaceTime call.
Finally, in the wake of Prue Leith stepping down as judge of The Great British Bake Off, the Sun reports that Nigella Lawson is a “choux-in” for her replacement.
The majority of the front pages focus on Donald Trump’s announcement of a framework deal for Greenland, including the Guardian which says the US president “abruptly stepped back” from threats to impose tariffs on European allies as leverage “after weeks of rhetoric that risked the deepest rupture in transatlantic relations in decades”. The Times reports a sense of “palpable relief” in European capitals at the development, while the Daily Express suggests it proves Western nations “should not panic” every time Mr Trump “tries a new gambit”.
The lack of details about the framework deal prompts several papers to speculate what could be involved. Sources have told the Daily Telegraph it stops short of the sale of Greenland, but would instead allow the US to have sovereign control of its military bases on the island. According to the Daily Mail, Trump is mulling making the 57,000 residents of the territory an offer of $1m each if they vote to join the US. Nato officials have told the i Paper they fear the President could “demand Greenland as the price of support for Ukraine”.
The Daily Mirror is highly critical of Trump’s appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, saying he delivered an “unhinged and rambling” speech to an audience of “aghast” world leaders. The Daily Star notes the president repeatedly confused Greenland with Iceland, while the Daily Telegraph argues it was “not so much a speech as a comedy special, with bitchy anecdotes and savage impersonations”. The paper describes Trump’s parody of his French counterpart as involving an accent “that many European states would prosecute as a hate crime”.
The main news for the Sun is the decision by Dame Prue Leith to leave the Great British Bake Off after almost a decade as a judge on the show. It claims she will be replaced by Nigella Lawson, with the telly cook said to be “ready to sign on the dotted line” ahead of the start of filming for the new series in April. The paper’s headline plays on a well-known type of pastry, saying “Nigella’s a choux-in”.
