Shortly after U.S. forces took the leader of Venezuela, President Donald Trump is turning his attention to the Arctic once again. The President told journalists on Monday 5, January 2026, the United States “has to have Greenland”, from a security point of view. It has set off a bitter fight with Denmark and Greenland, both of which have asked the United States to stop making threats.
We Need It for Defence
It is a massive island that is very rich in minerals and situated in an extremely important location [for purposes of the] military. President Trump has expressed public interest in Greenland before. From his private club in Florida, and later from Air Force One, Trump said that Russia and China are putting too many ships near the island.
“We have a position that at least I think is pretty clear, and you can read between the lines,” Trump said.“We need Denmark to be able to take care of Greenland. We protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world. He also said Denmark doesn’t have enough power to protect the region itself. He even hinted that he might act at any moment, telling one reporter, “Let’s say it was 20 days from now, let’s see what happens.”
The friction only escalated after Katie Miller, the wife of a top Trump advisor, posted an image. It depicted Greenland under an American flag, accompanied by a single word: “SOON.”
Denmark and Greenland Fight Back
The leaders of Denmark and Greenland were not amused by the comments. The message on social media of Greenland’s prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, was very clear: “That’s enough now.”
The idea of the U.S. taking over the island is a “fantasy,” he added, and called for an end to such “insinuations” or pressure. “We are open to dialogue,” Nielsen said, “but dialogue must follow the right channels and respect prior agreements and resolutions of the international community.”
Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, also intervened last week to defend the territory. She cautioned the United States that Denmark and Greenland, as part of Denmark, are in NATO, among a group of allies who pledge to defend one another. That the U.S. already has a military base in Greenland and wide access to the island means there is “no right” for the U.S. to take it over, she said.
World Leaders Join the Debate
With the U.S. military taking the world out of Venezuela over the last weekend, many countries are scared that Trump would try to do something similar in the Arctic.
• The U.K.: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he “stands with” Denmark. He said that the people of Greenland and Denmark are the only ones who can determine their own future, he told the BBC.
• The EU: European officials scoffed at Trump’s claim that they “need” the United States to control the island and said they fully support Greenland’s right to govern itself independently.
• France: A spokesman for the government said that “borders cannot be changed by force.”
Greenland is currently an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Though most of the 57,000 people who live there say they’d like to be independent one day, a poll shows almost no interest whatsoever in becoming the U.S.’s 51st state. Now that the 20-day countdown invoked by Trump starts notching down and the world is looking toward the North Pole to see what happens.
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