Does Donald Trump want to invade or buy Greenland? Marco Rubio and Karoline Leavitt appear out of sync

After striking Venezuela and capturing President Nicolas Maduro, US President Donald Trump has set his sights on Greenland, renewing calls for its integration into the US.

However, while Trump had, in his first term, sought to buy the Arctic island—something that is still being considered, per Secretary of State Marco Rubio—his aide and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that a military intervention was not off the table.

Commenting on Trump's latest push to acquire Greenland, which is a territory of Denmark, Leavitt said in an emailed statement to CNBC that the US was "considering a range of options", including using the military.

“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” the White House press secretary was quoted as saying.

“The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” she added.

The fact that the US has left the military option open itself contradicts Rubio's claim to US lawmakers that Trump was looking to buy the island.

Rubio's remarks, as reported by The New York Times, were made during a briefing on Monday, when the Secretary of State told lawmakers from both chambers of Congress that the Trump administration was considering buying Greenland rather than invading it.

Where do things stand now?

Trump's aspirations of annexing Greenland to the US go back to his first term, when he confirmed reports that he had been urging his aides to find out how the US could acquire the Arctic island, describing a potential sale as "essentially a large real estate deal".

Early into his second term, Trump reiterated the need for Greenland to be a part of the US, but had put the reason down to "economic security".

In recent days, however, the US President's rhetoric on Greenland has shifted from that, with Trump emphasizing the strategic importance of the island "from the standpoint of national security", given China and Russia's activities.

Situated between the US and Russia, the vast Arctic island has both oil and gas, as well as a supply of raw materials for green technology—with the island's ice sheets melting rapidly, Greenland could soon see the start of oil drilling and mining activities for the extraction of minerals such as lithium, copper, cobalt, and nickel.

Melting ice in the Arctic region is also opening up potential shipping routes reported The Guardian, which could provide alternatives to the Suez Canal.

Where does Denmark figure in all of this?

Greenland is currently part of the Danish kingdom. While Denmark earlier ruled Greenland as a colony, it still controls the island's foreign and security policy today.

Although the US has an important military base in Greenland, as well as its ballistic missile early warning system, its influence on the island is limited.

Denmark, however, has warned that Trump's talks of trying to acquire the island could spell the end of the NATO alliance.

Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, reacted to Trump by saying, "Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland."

The statement was backed by Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, Emmanuel Macron, the French President, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in addition to the prime ministers of Italy, Poland, and Spain.