President Donald Trump spoke about Greenland after the January 3 US operations in Venezuela. On Trump's orders, US armed forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, flying them to the US. Trump hinted as US intervention, speaking to reporters from Mar-a-Lago.
“We need Greenland,” the president said. “We do need Greenland, absolutely...[It's] surrounded by Russia and Chinese ships,” he said. Trump said the US needed for ‘national security’.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded with a firm statement, urging the US to stop its threats. “It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the U.S. needing to take over Greenland. The U.S. has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom,” the PM said in a statement.
“I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people, who have very clearly said that they are not for sale,” the PM added.
{{/usCountry}}“I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people, who have very clearly said that they are not for sale,” the PM added.
{{/usCountry}}This is not the first time Trump has spoken about Greenland. He earlier mentioned its strategic importance as well, prompting the US envoy to issue a clarification about the president's intent.
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The envoy said the Trump administration isn't going to “go in there trying to conquer anybody" or try to "to take over anybody’s country.” However, this contradicted Trump's own statements.
Trump called repeatedly for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland during his presidential transition and in the early months of his second term. In March, Vice President JD Vance visited a remote U.S. military base in Greenland and accused Denmark of under-investing there.
Trump's Greenland remark comes after Katie Miller post
Katie Miller, the wife of Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller made a recent post about Greenland which drew a sharp reaction from their administration.
She shared an image of Greenland adorned in the colors of the US state flag. Responding to Miller's actions, Denmark's ambassador to the United States, Jesper Møller Sørensen said "Just a friendly reminder about the US and the Kingdom of Denmark: We are close allies and should continue to work together as such. US security is also Greenland’s and Denmark’s security. Greenland is already part of NATO. The Kingdom of Denmark and the United States work together to ensure security in the Arctic. The Kingdom of Denmark has significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts - in 2025 alone, we committed USD 13,7 bn that can be used in the Arctic and North Atlantic. Because we take our joint security seriously. And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
(With AP and Reuters inputs)