Most Germans now view US president as a threat

A survey has found a majority of people in Germany view United States President Donald Trump as a threat to the country.

The poll, which was released on Sunday, was carried out by the INSA institute and commissioned by the daily newspaper Bild.

While 24 percent of respondents said they consider Trump an ally, an overwhelming 61 percent said the US president was a threat to the country, reported the DPA news agency.

The nationwide survey, which sampled about 1,000 people, found a majority felt threatened by the actions of the US, which helped liberate and rebuild Germany after World War II and that has been its most important ally for more than 80 years.

The survey also showed Germans want Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government to take a tougher stance toward Washington, with 52 percent backing a harder line and 31 percent favoring cooperation.

The poll was carried out as tensions flared between Europe and the US over the Greenland dispute.

Trump has since scrapped his threat to levy tariffs on eight European countries, including Germany, linked to his bid for US control of the Danish-administered Arctic territory.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Friday visited Nuuk, Greenland's capital, for talks with the territory's leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, after a tumultuous week in which Trump stepped back from threats to seize the Arctic island by force and agreed to continue negotiations.

Strain had built over the past couple of weeks until an abrupt reversal on Wednesday, when Trump ruled out the use of force and dropped plans to slap tariffs on several European partners.

Following a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said on social media that the parties had reached a "framework for a future agreement concerning Greenland".

Even so, few specifics have been made public, and it remains unclear exactly what the president and the secretary-general agreed.

On Thursday, Trump told Fox News, the US "gets everything we want at no cost" and said a "piece" of his planned "Golden Dome" missile defense system would be placed on Greenland.

Asked if this was an "acquisition", he replied: "It's total access. There's no end, there's no time limit."

Notably, he did not mention US ownership of Greenland.

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