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President Donald Trump declared from Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday that the U.S. is the only nation that is in the position to control and secure Greenland.
“All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland,” Trump said Wednesday from his speech at the World Economic Forum. “Where we’ve already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago after we defeated the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians and others in World War II, we gave it back to them.”
Trump added that he does not want to use force as he pressures NATO allies on Greenland.
“We never asked for anything,” Trump said of the U.S. working with NATO. “And we never got anything. We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won’t do that. Okay, now everyone say, ‘oh good.’ That’s probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
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Greenland — the world’s largest island — sits in the Arctic and governs its own domestic affairs while remaining within the Kingdom of Denmark.
The president said he has “tremendous respect for both the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark,” but that the U.S. must control the island from a national security standpoint.
“And the fact is, no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States, with a great power much greater than people even understand,” he said.
The White House has reiterated that Trump views Greenland as a national security priority, and officials have not ruled out the use of the U.S. military as the administration weighs options for acquiring the territory.
Trump was asked Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of his inauguration, how far he would go to Greenland, responding with a terse “you’ll find out” response.
The president described Greenland as a vast, almost entirely uninhabited and undeveloped territory that’s sitting undefended in a key strategic location between the United States, Russia and China. He pushed back that the U.S. is not seeking to acquire Greenland for its rare earths, but due to its location from a national security standpoint.
“This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere,” he said. “That’s our territory. It is, therefore, a core national security interest of the United States of America.”
Trump said securing Greenland would only strengthen NATO.
“This would not be a threat to NATO,” he said. “This would greatly enhance the security of the entire alliance. The NATO alliance. The United States is treated very unfairly by NATO. I want to tell you that. And when you think about it, nobody can dispute it. We give so much, and we get so little in return. And I’ve been a critic of NATO for many years, and yet I’ve done more to help NATO than any other president by far, than any other person. You wouldn’t have NATO if I didn’t get involved.”
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The president argued that U.S. control of Greenland would strengthen security for both the United States and Europe, framing the territory as a strategic necessity rather than a real-estate acquisition. “The European Union needs us to have it, and they know that,” he said, before pivoting to other topics.
Greenland has long carried outsized military importance in the Arctic. During the Cold War, the island sat along the shortest air and missile routes between North America and the Soviet Union. The U.S. expanded operations at the air base now known as Pituffik Space Base, using the site for early-warning radar and surveillance designed to detect incoming bombers and missiles.
“Now our country and the world face much greater risks than it did ever before. Because of missiles, because of nuclear, because of weapons, of warfare that I can’t even talk about,” Trump continued of Greenland.
In more recent years, renewed U.S. interest has been tied to intensifying great-power competition in the Arctic. Officials and analysts have pointed to China’s effort to widen its regional footprint.
Trump underscored that the U.S. is “stronger” than ever and is in the position to finalize a Greenland deal following “two centuries” of previous presidents reportedly trying to do the same.
“For two centuries they’ve been trying to do it. They should have kept it after World War II, but they had a different president. That’s all right. People think differently. Much more necessary now than it was at that time. However, in 2019, Denmark said that they would spend over $200 million to strengthen Greenland’s defenses. But as you know, they spent less than 1% of that amount. 1% is no sign of Denmark there,” the president continued.
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Trump first publicly raised the idea of acquiring Greenland in 2019. The Arctic’s geography makes it a key corridor for long-range threats from major adversaries, elevating Greenland’s value as a location for sensors and tracking systems intended to protect North America.
Trump put European allies on notice to reach a deal on the island by Feb. 1 or face consequences. Goods from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom will face a 10% tariff if no deal is reached by February, with the taxes increasing to 25% by June 1 if there is no deal.
European leaders at Davos largely treated Trump’s Greenland-linked tariff threats as economic coercion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, for example, said Greenland is “non-negotiable” and that the EU would show “full solidarity” with Greenland.
“In politics as in business: a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something,” von der Leyen added, referring to a trade deal the U.S. inked with the EU over the summer.
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