President Trump insisted Wednesday that the US “needs” to take control of Greenland “for the purpose of National Security,” warning that “[a]nything less than that is unacceptable” ahead of key meetings with Danish and Greenlandic officials.
“NATO should be leading the way for us to get it,” Trump said on Truth Social in reference to the world’s largest island. “IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
“Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term, and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, NATO would not be an effective force or deterrent – Not even close! They know that, and so do I. NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES.”
Trump spoke out hours before Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were set to meet Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt to try and resolve a diplomatic furor over the White House’s insistence that the US should annex Greenland, which has been under Danish control for centuries.
On Tuesday, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen: “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.”
Nielsen’s office also warned that Greenland will not accept a US takeover under “any circumstance” and pressed for NATO to defend it in the event of an attack.
The US already has a military presence on the island, and Denmark has said Washington is welcome to supplement that force at any time to head off potential threats from Moscow or Beijing.
“Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States,” Nielsen emphasized Tuesday.
Last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stressed that “utilizing the US military is always an option,” while Trump said that “we are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not.”
In response to Nielsen’s remarks Tuesday, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Post that the president “believes that Greenland is a strategically important location that is critical from the standpoint of national security.”
“He is confident Greenlanders would be better served if protected by the United States from modern threats in the Arctic region,” she added. “The President is committed to establishing long-term peace at home and abroad.”
