Trump’s Davos summit visit delayed after his airplane forced to return over technical snag
Updated: Jan 21st, 2026
Trump’s plane, Air force one, was forced to return to joint base Andrews in Washington, DC, around an hour after leaving for Davos to attend World Economic Forum (WEF) Summit on Tuesday because of “minor technical issue“.
Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews around an hour after leaving for Switzerland on Tuesday because of a “minor technical issue”. Trump boarded another aircraft, an Air Force C-32, and continued on with his trip to Davos.
Trump boarded another aircraft, an Air force C-32, to continue his trip to Davos with one hour delay.
The White House secretary Keroline Leavitt later confirmed that the crew had acted swiftly to ensure safety. “The decision was taken out of caution.The President will continue his trip to another aircraft,” she told reporters.
A day before travelling to Davos, Trump mocked European leaders as he prepared to take centre stage over the future of the autonomous Danish territory. At a White House news conference marking one year since his return to office, Trump declined to say how far Washington might go to secure US interests related to Greenland. Asked directly, he replied: “You’ll find out.”
Trump said he had meetings planned on Greenland during his trip to Davos. “We have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland,” he said. He added that he believed “things are going to work out pretty well.”
However, leaders at the Swiss ski resort have united in response to Trump's ‘America First’ stance. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to stand up to "bullies", while the European Union said it would deliver an "unflinching" reply.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that Trump could push relations between the US and the European Union into a "downward spiral".
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has tried to limit his country’s reliance on Washington after Trump suggested it should become the 51st US state, received a standing ovation at Davos for his position.
After these remarks , Trump questioned whether the alliance would stand with the United States in a crisis. “NATO is only as good as we are,” he said. Without the US, he added, the alliance would not be very strong. He said he had concerns about whether allies would come to Washington’s aid.
Pressed on whether force was an option, Trump avoided specifics. He pointed instead to economic tools. He said tariffs, licensing and “other alternatives” were available and described them as “the best, the strongest, the fastest.”
