President Trump gave reporters a cryptic answer Tuesday when asked how far he’s willing to go to acquire Greenland during a White House press briefing.
“You’ll find out,” Trump responded tersely.
The president has been adamant in recent weeks that US-ownership of Greenland is critical for national security, particularly for identifying and fending off threats from Russia and China.
Trump’s desire to annex the autonomous Danish territory has sparked fears of a potential military conflict over the island, which some critics argue could destroy the NATO alliance.
“We have a lot of meeting scheduled on Greenland,” Trump said of his upcoming trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “and I think things are going to work out pretty well.”
“I think something’s going to happen that’s going to be very good for everybody,” the president continued, downplaying internal concerns. “Nobody’s done more for NATO than I have.”
“We’ll work something out where NATO is going to be very happy and we’re going to be very happy,” he added, “but we need it for security purposes.”
“We need it for national security and even world security. It’s very important.”
Tensions over Greenland have escalated in recent days as Trump has threatened tariffs on European allies opposing his plan to take over the Arctic island.
Trump also warned Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre via text message, “I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant,” in response to missing out on last year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
In response to Trump’s threats, Denmark requested that NATO organize military exercises in Greenland.
More than 100 Danish combat troops arrived on the frigid island Monday.
Last week, Greenland’s prime minister demanded that NATO insure its defense from a possible US invasion and noted the territory “cannot accept under any circumstances” a US takeover.
Trump has also taunted Europeans by sharing an AI-generated picture of himself planting a US flag on Greenland, as well as a separate AI-generated picture of European leaders — including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — gathered around a map in the Oval Office that shows Greenland, Canada, and Venezuela absorbed into the US.
The posts came as Trump declared Tuesday that there was “no going back” on his goal to acquire Greenland — and he refused to rule out using military force.
