Donald Trump’s address at the World Economic Forum in Davos featured a parade of dubious claims about everything from peace deals to windfarms. Several assertions ranged from exaggerated to provably false.
Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
The president’s address in Switzerland featured a range of dubious assertions, from exaggerated to false.
By Joseph Gedeon / The Guardian / January 21, 2026
Wings Editorial Note: Because what is happening in Minnesota since this article was originally published it is a week old. The comments on Greenland and NATO, for example, are out of date because of recent developments. Nonetheless, this article illustrates how Trump lies and manipulates the truth and is well worth reading.
Here’s what Trump got wrong.
‘I’ve now been working on this war for one year, during which time I settled eight other wars.’
Trump did not go into detail on which wars he was talking about, but he has repeated the claim enough times in his first year back in office that we can assess those we believe he was describing. His administration played a role in brokering ceasefires between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Armenia and Azerbaijan, though these were incremental agreements, and some leaders dispute the extent of his involvement. He did secure the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal, but it involves multiple stages and remains incomplete – with hundreds in Gaza reported killed since the first phase took effect in October.
The temporary peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo fell apart, with fighting killing hundreds of civilians since it was signed in June. Cambodia and Thailand are still trading accusations over broken ceasefires and border clashes. The Egypt-Ethiopia dispute is about a dam on the Nile – a diplomatic problem, but not a shooting war. As for Kosovo and Serbia, it’s unclear what brewing conflict Trump believes he prevented.
‘We’re leading the world in AI by a lot. We’re leading China by a lot.’
Key figures in the AI industry have assessed the race differently. Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, said in September that China was “nanoseconds” behind the US. The White House AI czar, David Sacks, estimated in June that Chinese models lag by “three to six months”.
Chinese companies such as DeepSeek have released cheaper models that rival America’s best, despite restrictions on advanced chips. Trump himself called DeepSeek a “wake-up call” for US tech companies.
‘China makes almost all of the windmills, and yet I haven’t been able to find any windfarms in China. Did you ever think of that? It’s a good way of looking. You know, they’re smart. China is very smart. They make them. They sell them for a fortune. They sell them to the stupid people that buy them, but they don’t use them themselves.’
This claim is incorrect. China has more wind capacity than any other country and twice as much capacity under construction as the rest of the world combined.
China’s wind generation in 2024 equaled 40% of global wind generation, according to the thinktank Ember Energy. The country is building 180 gigawatts of solar projects and 159 gigawatts of wind projects, which together amount to nearly two-thirds of the renewable capacity coming online worldwide, according to Global Energy Monitor. Rather than avoiding wind power domestically, China is the world’s largest generator of wind energy.
‘We’re there for Nato 100%. I’m not sure if they’d be there for us.’
Nato allies have already demonstrated their willingness to support the US, suffering significant casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past two decades.
In Afghanistan, according to the independent nonprofit tracker icasualties.org, Nato allies sustained 1,144 deaths out of 3,609 total coalition fatalities between 2001 and 2021. The UK lost 455 service members, Canada lost 158, France lost 86, Germany lost 54 and Denmark lost 43. In Iraq, coalition partners sustained 324 deaths out of 4,910 total fatalities, with the UK suffering 182 casualties. These were substantial commitments to American-led military operations.
‘They called me Daddy.’
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte did indeed call Trump “Daddy” at a summit last June. It happened after Trump compared Israel and Iran to “two kids in a schoolyard” fighting, with Rutte quipping that “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language”.
Trump’s use of the plural “they called me” suggests a pattern of Nato leaders breathlessly addressing him this way, which is for now unsupported. Unless, of course, world leaders are calling him Daddy in soon-to-be-leaked private text messages.
‘After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it. But we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now?’
The US never owned Greenland. In 1916, the secretary of state, Robert Lansing, declared the US “will not object to the Danish government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland” as part of a deal in which Denmark sold the US Virgin Islands. That’s not ownership.
When Norway tried to claim part of Greenland in 1931, the international court ruled for Denmark in 1933, citing an 1814 treaty showing Denmark retained Greenland when it ceded Norway to Sweden. US-Denmark agreements in 1941 and 1951 allowing American military bases explicitly stated these were “without prejudice to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark”. At no point did the United States possess sovereignty over Greenland that it could then return to Denmark.
‘If we were able to cut out 50% of the fraud … we would have a balanced budget without having to talk about even growth.’
The math doesn’t work. The highest estimate of US fraud losses is $521bn, according to the Government Accountability Office. Even eliminating all of it – which would be unprecedented – would cover less than a third of the 2025 deficit of about $1.7tn.
Cutting fraud in half, as Trump proposed, would yield roughly $260bn if the highest estimate is the target. That’s less than one-sixth of the deficit, leaving the government more than $1.5tn short of balanced.
Dharna Noor contributed reporting
Wings of Change is entirely reader supported.
Wings invites you to subscribe.
Join us on Wings of Change
In this critical time hearing voices of truth is all the more important although censorship and attacks on truth-tellers are common. Support WingsofChange.me as we bring you important articles and journalism beyond the mainstream corporate media on the Wings of Change website and Rise Up Times on social media
Please join me on Wings of Change. It’s only the beginning as we still have so much work to continue to do as many activists and organizations address current threats to our democracy and unjust actions against people of color and activists and make plans for the upcoming years. Wings of Change is pleased and excited to be a part of that work through education, information, and inspiration.
Access is always free, but if you would like to help:
A donation of $25 or whatever you can donate will bring you articles and opinions from independent websites, writers, and journalists as well as a blog with the opinions and creative contributions by myself and others.
Sue Ann Martinson, Editor 
“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”
— Howard Zinn
