Karoline Leavitt Fiercely Defends Donald Trump After He Mixes Up Greenland and Iceland in Rambling Speech

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly came to Donald Trump’s defense after the president appeared to confuse Greenland and Iceland during a high-profile speech overseas.

The mix-up happened while Trump was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he laid out controversial ideas about taking control of Greenland. As criticism spread online, Leavitt wasted no time pushing back.

“No he didn’t,” Leavitt fired back on X after a reporter pointed out the mistake, sharing a Google image search of Greenland. “His written remarks referred to Greenland as a ‘piece of ice’ because that’s what it is. You’re the only one mixing anything up here.”

Her response comes after Trump delivered a speech on Wednesday, January 21, during which he used Iceland’s name multiple times while seemingly referring to Greenland.

“I’m helping Europe, I’m helping NATO, and until the last few days, when I told them about Iceland, they loved me,” Trump told the audience at one point.

Moments later, he continued to appear confused.

“They’re not there for us on Iceland, that I can tell you,” he said, referring to European countries. “I mean, our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland. So Iceland’s already costs a lot of money.”

Elsewhere in the speech, Trump appeared to describe Greenland more directly, saying, “But now what I’m asking for is a piece of ice, cold and poorly located that can play a vital role in world peace and world protection.”

Just one day earlier, Trump had also mixed up Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory near Canada — with Iceland, a separate country in northern Europe.

"As an example, Iceland – without tariffs, they wouldn't even be talking to us about it," Trump said on Tuesday, January 20, during a White House press briefing.

That same press conference included an unexpected moment that seemed to put Leavitt in the spotlight. While unveiling what he called a “book of accomplishments” marking the first year of his second term, Trump suggested his message wasn’t landing with the public.

“We’ve had the best stock market in history, the best 401Ks in history, and we inherited a mess. The numbers that we inherited were way up. And now we brought them, almost all of them, way down,” he said. “I mean, I’m not getting — maybe I have bad public relations people, but we’re not getting it across.”

The comment appeared to subtly point toward his communications team, including Leavitt, who had actively promoted the briefing earlier that day.

“In just one year, President Trump has accomplished more than many presidents do in eight,” Leavitt wrote on X ahead of the event. “We've never had a president fight harder to deliver on the promises he made to the American people than President Trump…”

She later reposted the message, building anticipation just before Trump arrived to speak.

“A very special guest will be joining me at the podium today,” Leavitt wrote shortly before the briefing began. “TUNE IN!”