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Meredith Chen

US President Donald Trump has revived his ambition to take control of Greenland, whether by buying it or through military action, arguing that it would be in the interests of his nation’s security.
Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of US Nato ally Denmark and the idea of buying it was widely dismissed as absurd when Trump first suggested it in 2019.
This time, in the aftermath of the weekend abduction of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, the proposition sent shock waves across Europe and triggered a diplomatic backlash.
So, why is Trump fixated on acquiring the territory and is the idea feasible?
Why Greenland?
Greenland is a sparsely populated Arctic island and has long been considered strategically important to US defence, mainly because of its location.
It is the world’s largest island and sits off the northeastern coast of Canada, with more than two-thirds of its territory lying within the Arctic Circle. Located between North America and Europe, it sits at the junction of the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic.
Since the Cold War, it has been a key outpost to warn of potential Russian missile attacks and to monitor Russian naval activity through the choke point of the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap.
The US has had a military presence there since World War II. During the Cold War, it built the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, then called Thule Air Base, which is the US Department of Defence’s northernmost installation.
As sea ice melts due to climate change, Arctic shipping routes are becoming more commercially viable, opening up potential alternatives to congested choke points such as the Suez and Panama canals, according to Otto Svendsen, an associate fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.


How does China factor into this equation?
Global warming also increased access to Greenland’s potentially lucrative mineral resources, including rare earths that are deemed critical to US national security and economic stability.
The US is heavily reliant on Chinese supplies of these critical minerals and Greenland’s mineral reserves have become “highly motivating” to Washington as tensions with Beijing have grown, according to Gabriella Gricius, a senior fellow at the Arctic Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
Trump also says acquiring Greenland is a US “national security priority” because it is “covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place”.
Will the US use the military to take over?
The administration has been discussing “a range of options” to pursue this renewed goal, and potential use of the US military is “always an option”, the White House says.
Svendsen says Trump’s refusal to rule out military force to take control of the island is a “significant departure” from past administrations.
“Combined with the recent operation in Venezuela, it signals an increased willingness to expand direct US control in the western hemisphere,” he said.
But experts say the use of military force is highly unlikely and the purported Russian and Chinese presence in Greenland is overstated.
There is no sustained Russian or Chinese naval presence around Greenland itself, which is not a de facto major concern for the US, they say.
Russian naval activity in the European Arctic is mostly confined to the Barents Sea, while Chinese ships mostly sail to and from Russia with raw materials and in the waters around Alaska, Svendsen says.


Could the US buy Greenland?
The purchase option appears to be feasible – the US has paid for territory in the past. But both Nuuk and Copenhagen have repeatedly insisted that Greenland is not for sale.
“A purchase proposal to Denmark may be feasible but it misses the point entirely as Greenland is not for sale, and Greenlanders themselves do not want to be a part of the US,” Gricius said.
Svendsen says the Danish government is highly unlikely to engage in such talks, however, as it would breach international law and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.
On Monday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said an American takeover of Greenland would amount to the end of the Nato military alliance.
Leaders from major European powers and Canada rallied behind Denmark and Greenland on Tuesday, saying the Arctic island belonged to its people.
The island has its own government and parliament, with Copenhagen retaining control of foreign policy, defence and currency.
Though a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe. Its economy has been largely dependent on Danish aid. Citizens of Greenland are full citizens of Denmark and, therefore, of the European Union.


Greenland’s status within the Kingdom of Denmark has been debated for decades. Any move towards full independence – or a transfer of sovereignty, such as a US purchase – would require agreement from the governments of Greenland and Denmark, approval from both parliaments, and a referendum in Greenland, according to legislation.
Polling indicates that Greenlanders generally favour eventual independence from Denmark but oppose being owned by the US.
Experts also say that a more likely proposal from the Trump administration would be something like a “compact of free association”, direct engagement with the Greenlandic government and offers of economic benefits to accelerate the Greenlandic people’s independence aspirations.
Under such a deal, the US provides essential services, protection and free trade in exchange for military access or strategic rights on those countries’ territory.


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Greenland

Greenland. Greenland. Greenland. Why is Trump so fixed on the US having it?

Greenland is a sparsely populated Arctic island and has long been considered strategically important to US defence, mainly because of its location. Photo: Reuters 

Macron slams US for ‘breaking free’ from global rules after Maduro raid, Greenland threat

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to French ambassadors on Thursday in Paris. Photo: AP

Behind the Venezuela crisis, a US-China tussle over critical minerals

US President Donald Trump, flanked by senior members of his administration, speaks to the press following American military strikes on Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: TNS

In this photo released by the White House, US President Donald Trump monitors American military strikes in Venezuela alongside CIA director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Mar-a-Lago, January 3. Photo: AP

‘End of Nato’: Denmark warns US against taking Greenland by force

Danish troops during a military drill in Greenland in September. Photo: Reuters

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix via Reuters

US President Donald Trump and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at a Nato summit in The Hague in June, 2025. Photo: AFP

A fjord in western Greenland. Photo: Reuters

Trump says Greenland is ‘surrounded’ by Chinese ships. What’s the real story?

Icebergs float in the water off Nuuk, Greenland. The United States aims to acquire Greenland, which is a self-governing Danish territory. Photo: AFP

A view of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. The United States aims to acquire Greenland, which is a self-governing Danish territory. Photo: AFP

Trump doubles down on wanting Greenland after US intervention in Venezuela

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. Photo: AFP

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix via AP

Nuuk, Greenland. Photo: AFP

News

China

Diplomacy

Denmark says it’s not for sale and people on the island seem opposed to being owned by the United States


Denmark says it’s not for sale and people on the island seem opposed to being owned by the United States.


Greenland. Greenland. Greenland. Why is Trump so fixed on the US having it?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Denmark says it’s not for sale and people on the island seem opposed to being owned by the United States

Why Greenland?

Denmark says it’s not for sale and people on the island seem opposed to being owned by the United States