President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on both Denmark and Greenland, declaring Sunday that the United States must move to acquire the massive Arctic island or risk watching it fall into the hands of Russia or China.
“If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will take Greenland, and I am not going to let that happen,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I’d love to make a deal with them. It’s easier. But one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
The comments come ahead of a scheduled Wednesday meeting between U.S. and Danish officials regarding the future of Greenland, a strategically vital territory rich in natural resources and military positioning.
While Trump insisted he has not yet made a formal offer, he accused Denmark of underestimating the seriousness of the situation. “Their defense is two dog sleds,” Trump said. “In the meantime, you have Russian destroyers and submarines and China destroyers and submarines all over the place.”
His remarks came just days after he asserted that “ownership” of Greenland was essential, not merely a lease or increased presence. “You don’t defend leases the same way. You have to own it,” Trump said last week at an energy forum, drawing a direct line between U.S. national security and territorial acquisition.
Greenland’s political leaders fired back in a rare joint statement. “We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” said Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Joined by four other party leaders, Nielsen demanded an end to “the United States’ contempt for our country” and insisted that Greenland’s future must be decided solely by its people.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that a U.S. military seizure of Greenland would shatter NATO. “If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” she said last week, referencing speculation about a possible forced acquisition.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, currently serving as a volunteer special envoy to Greenland, sided with Trump and questioned Denmark’s claim to the island. “History matters,” Landry posted to X. “The U.S. defended Greenland’s sovereignty during WWII when Denmark couldn’t. After the war, Denmark re-occupied it — side stepping and ignoring UN protocol.”
Landry has been vocal about his goal: make Greenland part of the United States. And for Trump, that acquisition now appears less like a real estate deal and more like a national security imperative.
The post Trump Says U.S. Must Acquire Greenland to Stop Russian or Chinese Expansion appeared first on Real News Now.
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