In Greenland, 'people are not sleeping, children are afraid'

As Greenland stands up to Trump, president says anything short of US control ‘unacceptable’

Foreign ministers of Denmark, Greenland in DC to meet with Rubio and Vance; bill introduced in US Congress would block State, Defense Department funds being used against the island

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that NATO should help the US acquire Greenland and anything less than having the island in American hands is unacceptable, hours before US Vice President JD Vance was to host Danish and Greenlandic officials for talks.

In a post on his social media site, Trump reiterated his argument that the US “needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security.” He added that “NATO should be leading the way for us to get it” and that otherwise Russia or China would — “AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!”

“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.”

Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, is at the center of a geopolitical storm as Trump insists he wants to own it — and residents of its capital, Nuuk, say it isn’t for sale. The White House hasn’t ruled out taking the Arctic island by force.

Vance, along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was to meet Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt in Washington later Wednesday to discuss Greenland.

In perhaps their sharpest pushback to date, Denmark and Greenland’s prime ministers underscored on Tuesday that the territory is part of Denmark, and thus covered by the umbrella of the NATO military alliance.

“Dear Greenlanders, you should know that we stand together today, we will do so tomorrow, and we will continue to do so,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during a joint press conference in Copenhagen.

“If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU,” said Greenland’s Jens-Frederik Nielsen.

Asked later Tuesday about Nielsen’s comments, Trump replied: “I disagree with him. I don’t know who he is. I don’t know anything about him. But, that’s going to be a big problem for him.”

Trump earlier this week reiterated his argument that the US needs to “take Greenland,” otherwise Russia or China would. He’s also said he’d rather “make a deal” for the territory, “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”

US already has military presence, Greenland open to more

Danish officials have made clear they are open to expanding cooperation with the US military in Greenland, but have repeatedly stated the territory is not for sale.

Since 1945, the American military presence in Greenland has decreased from thousands of soldiers over 17 bases and installations on the island to just the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest with roughly 200 soldiers today. The base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the US and NATO.

Denmark’s parliament approved a bill in June to allow US military bases on Danish soil. It widened a previous military agreement, made in 2023 with the Biden administration, where US troops had broad access to Danish air bases in the Scandinavian country.

‘People are not sleeping, children are afraid’

Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business and mineral resources, said it’s “unfathomable” that the United States is discussing taking over a NATO ally and urged the Trump administration to listen to voices from the Arctic island’s people.

Nathanielsen added that people in Greenland are “very, very worried” over the US administration’s desire for control of Greenland.

“People are not sleeping, children are afraid, and it just fills everything these days. And we can’t really understand it,” Nathanielsen said at a meeting with lawmakers in Britain’s Parliament.

Separately, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte refused to be drawn into the dispute, insisting that it was not his role to get involved.

“I never, ever comment when there are discussions within the alliance,” Rutte said, at the European Parliament in Brussels. “My role has to be to make sure we solve issues.”

He said that the 32-nation military alliance must focus on providing security in the Arctic region, which includes Greenland. “When it comes to the protection of the High North, that is my role.”

Denmark helped US intercept oil tanker last week

Danish officials have also sought to underscore that Denmark has remained a faithful ally of the United States.

A Danish government official confirmed on Tuesday that Denmark provided US forces in the east Atlantic with support last week as they intercepted an oil tanker for alleged violations of US sanctions.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined to provide details about what the support entailed.

Following the White House meeting on Wednesday, Løkke Rasmussen and Motzfeldt, along with Denmark’s ambassador to the US, are due to meet with senators from the Arctic Caucus in the US Congress.

Two lawmakers — Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican — have introduced bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the use of US Defense or State Department funds to annex or take control of Greenland or the sovereign territory of any NATO member state without that ally’s consent or authorization from the North Atlantic Council.

A bipartisan delegation of lawmakers is also heading to Copenhagen later this week to meet Danish and Greenlandic officials.