Trump says U.S. needs Greenland for defense; Denmark says no
by Darryl Coote · UPIJan. 4 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said in an interview published Sunday that the United States needs to annex Greenland "for defense," drawing condemnation and demands from Denmark to stop threatening annexation.
Trump has consistently discussed annexing Greenland since before retaking office in January 2025, but has also long been rebuffed on the idea by officials in both Denmark and its autonomous territory of Greenland.
But at a news conference on Saturday morning after the U.S. apprehension of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both alluded to the potential of U.S. military action elsewhere in the Americas.
When asked on Sunday if Maduro's apprehension should be interpreted by other nations -- for instance, Greenland, which does not want to be annexed -- as a signal that his administration might consider military action to pursue more goals, Trump demurred.
"They are going to have to view it themselves," Trump told The Atlantic in an interview on Sunday. "I really don't know ... But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense."
He also noted that the NATO ally is "surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships."
Trump previously has refused to rule out military action to annex Greenland, saying in May that he wouldn't "say I'm not going to do it but I don't rule out anything ... We need Greenland very badly," The Guardian reported.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a statement Sunday in response to Trump's renewed comments about annexing Greenland, calling on the United States to stop threatening it.
"I must say this very directly to the United States: It makes absolutely no sense to talk about it being necessary for the United States to take over Greenland. The United States has no legal right to annex any of the three countries in the Realm of the Kingdom," she said in the official statement.
Denmark, and therefore Greenland, is a NATO member and is covered by the alliance's security guarantee, she said, while adding that the Scandinavian country also shares a defense agreement with the United States that gives its military "broad access" to Greenland.
"I therefore strongly urge that, on the part of the United States, threats against a historically close ally -- and against another country and another people who have very clearly stated that they are not for sale -- come to an end," she said.
Greenland, which is the world's largest island, is a self-governing territory of Denmark. It is largely covered with ice, though it has oil, natural gas and mineral resources, and already is home to the United States' northernmost military base.
Trump said in a nationally televised speech in March that his administration was "working with everybody involved to try and get it."
"We need it really for international world security," he said during the speech, adding that he thought "we're going to get it, one way or the other."
At the time, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a Facebook post that Greenlanders would determine their own future and do not want to be Americans any more than they want to be Danish.
Trump's recently named Greenland envoy, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, said in December that the United States is not going to "go in there trying to conquer anybody."
Landry also said in December that he was thankful to Trump for the "honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the United States," The Guardian reported.
Denmark's ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, responded to a Saturday post on X by Katie Miller, wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, that depicted Greenland with a U.S. map overlaid on it with the word "SOON," the BBC reported.
"Just a friendly reminder about the U.S. and Denmark: We are close allies and should continue to work together as such," Soerensen said in a response on X.
"And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark," Soerensen added.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order reclassifying marijuana from a schedule I to a schedule III controlled substance in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo