#trump-statements

#trump-statements

After a brief sell-off in the run-up to Donald Trump's speech to global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, markets are up, after the president backed off earlier claims and ruled out using force to acquire Greenland. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 451 points, or about 1%, and the S&P 500 was up 67 points, also about 1%, in midday trading at the time of this writing. The Nasdaq was up about 0.7%.

Earlier this month, Trump pledged to come to the aid of protesters if the regime turned to violence. On Tuesday, Trump renewed his vow, writing Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price, in a post on Truth Social. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!! he added. Later that day, CBS News reported that the regime had already murdered between 12,000 and 20,000 protesters.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products. Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, "BUT NOT ANYMORE!"

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they "agreed that this was a critical moment - for Ukraine, its people and for shared security across the Euro-Atlantic region". A White House official confirmed the call took place on Wednesday but did not give details. It comes the day after Trump called European leaders "weak", suggesting the US could scale back support for Ukraine. In the wide-ranging Politico interview published on Tuesday, Trump also claimed Ukraine was "using war" to avoid holding elections, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to reply he was "ready" for them.