President Donald Trump said the United States requires control of Greenland for “national security” reasons, stating that the territory is critical to the “Golden Dome” defense system his administration is developing. He said that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) should take the lead in supporting US efforts to secure Greenland, warning that if Washington does not do so, Russia or China could step in, an outcome he said would be “unacceptable”.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump also claimed that NATO’s military effectiveness depends heavily on US power, much of which he said was built up during his first term and is now being strengthened further. Without the US, he mentioned, the alliance would lack real deterrent capability. According to Trump, NATO would become significantly stronger and more effective if Greenland were under US control, insisting that any alternative arrangement would fall short.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Denmark and Greenland on Tuesday presented a unified stance against Trump’s repeated calls for the US to assume control of the strategically important Arctic island, doing so ahead of key discussions in Washington on the issue.
In what appeared to be their strongest rebuttal so far, the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland emphasised that Greenland is part of the Danish realm and therefore falls under NATO’s collective defence framework. They warned that any US effort to seize the territory or push it toward separation would seriously damage the transatlantic alliance, a cornerstone of global security since the end of World War II.
Trump dismissed those warnings, telling reporters in Washington, “That's their problem."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stressed on their close coordination as their foreign ministers — Denmark’s Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Vivian Motzfeldt — prepared for talks at the White House on Wednesday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
‘We choose Denmark’
As per a report by AP, during a joint press conference in Copenhagen, Frederiksen said, “Dear Greenlanders, you should know that we stand together today, we will do so tomorrow, and we will continue to do so."
“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," Greenland's Nielsen stated.
Tensions have escalated this month as Trump has intensified his calls for the United States to take control of the island. He has repeatedly said he is weighing multiple options to obtain Greenland, including the possible use of military force.
When reporters asked Trump about comments from Nielsen indicating that Greenland wants to remain part of Denmark, he dismissed the remarks, saying: “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.”
