United States president-elect Donald Trump has not dismissed the possibility of using military force to take control of Greenland, stressing its acquisition is crucial to US national security.
When asked on Tuesday whether he would dismiss military or economic action, Trump said he could not.
His son, Donald Trump Jr, is currently in Greenland, bringing renewed attention to Trump’s push to acquire the island.
Here’s what you need to know about Greenland and why Trump is interested in the island.
Who owns Greenland, and where is it?
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, not a country. Its population of about 56,000 are full citizens of Denmark and, by extension, the European Union.
Although controlled by Denmark, Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, is over 3,500km away from Copenhagen and sits between the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, off the coast of North America.
As the largest island in the world, Greenland is rich in natural resources.
According to the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, “there is a huge potential for oil exploitation in the waters” offshore.
Why does Donald Trump want to acquire Greenland?
Trump discussed acquiring Greenland during his presidential campaign, and reignited interest last month on his platform Truth Social, calling the ownership of the territory an “absolute necessity”.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” he wrote.
His renewed interest follows a similar proposal from 2019, which aimed to secure the strategically important Arctic territory.
This territory is crucial to US interests due to its location on the shortest route between North America and Europe and its role as home to a key American space facility.
The island’s surrounding waters are considered a security “black hole”, with vast areas lacking government or military surveillance.
During a press conference on Tusday, Trump provided further insight into his reasoning behind wanting to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal — both of which he has shown interest in.
When asked if he would rule out using “military or economic coercion” to secure Greenland, Trump said: “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this: We need them for economic security.”
Trump isn’t the first US president to propose buying Greenland. In 1867, then-president Andrew Johnson, who bought Alaska, also considered acquiring the island.
After World War Two, the Truman administration suggested offering Denmark US$100 million ($160 million) for Greenland, as revealed in documents reported by Danish media.
How Denmark responds to Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland
Addressing Trump’s comments, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the US was Denmark’s “most important and closest ally”.
“I don’t think it’s a good way forward to fight each other with financial means when we are close allies and partners,” she said.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she didn’t think it was a “good way forward” for the US and Denmark to “fight each other with financial means”. Credit: Mads Claus Rasmussen/EPA
Welcoming US’ interest in the Arctic region during an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2, Frederiksen said it would “have to be done in a way” that was “respectful of the Greenlandic people”.
“At the same time, it must be done in a way that allows Denmark and the United States to still cooperate in, among other things, NATO.”
Frederiksen also encouraged “everyone to respect that the Greenlanders are a people, it is their country, and only Greenland can determine and define Greenland’s future”.
Earlier, Trump posted a video of his private plane landing in Nuuk, showing a landscape of snow-capped peaks and fjords on his platform Truth Social.
“Don Jr. and my Reps landing in Greenland,” he wrote.
“The reception has been great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen. MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
In a statement, Greenland’s government said Trump Jr’s visit was taking place “as a private individual” and not as an official visit, and Greenlandic representatives would not meet with him.
Where else has Trump set his eyes on?
Trump has also threatened to pursue the repossession of the Panama Canal.
In response, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said: “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama.”
Trump has also raised the possibility the US could consider taking ownership of Canada.
In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump referred to Canada as “the 51st state” after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to resign.
Trudeau sharply rebuked Trump’s suggestion, saying there “isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States” in a post on X.
“Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner,” he said.
Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Mélanie Joly, also responded to Trump’s remarks, saying they showed “a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country”.
“Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats.”
