Fresh from what his allies describe as a show of force in Venezuela, US President Donald Trump has turned his attention back to one of his longest-running geopolitical obsessions: Greenland. The renewed push is sharper, more explicit and far more controversial than before, with the White House openly acknowledging that even military options are being discussed.
Trump’s remarks have revived anxieties across Europe about sovereignty, NATO unity, and stability in the Arctic. While the president frames his interest as a matter of national and economic security, critics see a familiar pattern of inflated claims, unilateral threats, and a transactional view of global politics that ignores diplomatic realities and the wishes of the people who actually live in Greenland.
Trump revives Greenland takeover talk
On Sunday, January 4, Trump declared that he needed Greenland “very badly.” Two days later, on January 6, the White House confirmed that the administration was discussing options to take control of the vast Arctic territory, including the possible use of military force.
Trump’s fixation with Greenland is not new. He first floated the idea publicly in 2019, during his first term, when he likened the potential acquisition to “essentially a large real estate deal.” Since returning to the White House, his language has shifted from speculative to assertive. In January 2024, he said the US needed Greenland for “economic security.” This week, he framed it more starkly, saying he needed the territory “from the standpoint of national security.”
His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, reinforced that message, telling reporters that “acquiring Greenland is a national security priority” aimed at deterring rivals such as Russia and China.
Why Greenland matters to Trump
Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, located between North America, Europe and Russia, with a population of just around 57,000. Its strategic value lies both in geography and resources. As Arctic ice recedes, the island is becoming more accessible and more valuable.
Greenland holds deposits of rare earth minerals essential for telecommunications, as well as uranium, oil and vast reserves of natural gas. Many of these materials are currently dominated by Chinese supply chains, a fact that has sharpened American interest in securing alternative sources closer to home.
Trump’s senior aide Stephen Miller made the administration’s stance explicit on Monday. “The president has been clear for months now that the United States should be the nation that has Greenland as part of our overall security apparatus,” Miller said in an interview with CNN.
Who governs Greenland today
Greenland remains under Danish sovereignty, though it has enjoyed home rule since 1979. It has its own parliament, Inatsisartut, and sends two representatives to Denmark’s Folketing. Copenhagen continues to control Greenland’s foreign affairs and defence.
Calls for independence have grown in recent years, fuelled in part by anger over historical abuses, including revelations about forced contraceptive programmes imposed on Greenlandic women in the 1960s and 70s. A former Greenlandic prime minister last year accused Denmark of genocide in connection with those policies.
Despite that discontent, Greenland’s current leadership has been unequivocal about Trump’s ambitions. The island’s prime minister has said Greenland is “not for sale and never will be for sale.”
Military force, purchase or pressure
Asked about Trump’s options, Leavitt said on Tuesday that “the president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilising the US military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”
Trump himself has repeatedly refused to rule out force. Last March, he said he would “never take military force off the table,” while adding there was a “possibility that we could do it without.”
Such a move would strike at the heart of NATO, of which both Denmark and the United States are founding members. Analysts warn it would severely damage Washington’s credibility and could provoke countermoves from Russia and China, accelerating militarisation of the Arctic and undermining the security Trump claims to prioritise.
There are non-military options too. On January 5, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that Trump planned to buy Greenland rather than invade it, though he offered no details on how such a purchase would work.
The idea is not unprecedented. The US bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, and previously explored purchasing Greenland from Denmark in a plan that only became public decades later. However, experts note that any such deal would be complex and lengthy. Philip Lipscy of the University of Toronto has said it would likely extend well beyond Trump’s term in office.
Another option would be a Compact of Free Association, similar to agreements Washington has with Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. Such arrangements allow states to remain formally independent while granting the US military broad access. The Trump administration considered this during his first term, but it would require Greenland to become independent with Denmark’s consent.
Europe pushes back
Trump’s renewed rhetoric has prompted a swift response from Europe. Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain issued a joint statement with Denmark on Tuesday affirming their commitment to “sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders”.
French President Emmanuel Macron sought to downplay the prospect of escalation, saying, “I cannot imagine a scenario in which the United States of America would be placed in a position to violate Danish sovereignty.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer struck a similarly cautious tone.
Greenland, meanwhile, has requested a meeting with Rubio to seek clarity on Washington’s intentions, even as Trump’s statements continue to raise more questions than answers about how far he is willing to go to satisfy his Arctic ambitions.
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