President Donald Trump has repeatedly talked about annexing Greenland. He reupped those calls hours after the U.S. captured Venezuela’s leader.
‘We need Greenland’ for national security, Trump says
President Donald Trump calls Greenland vital for US security as officials and Nordic allies push back.
A day after the U.S. military toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump appeared to have his eyes trained on the next target for American intervention: Greenland.
Since taking office in 2025, Trump has repeatedly floated buying the ice-covered Arctic island from Denmark and has refused to rule out taking the resource-rich land through military force. Trump has argued that annexing Greenland is a national security necessity, noting its mass of critical minerals and strategic location.
He renewed those calls Jan. 4 as his administration took a victory lap for their ouster of Venezuela’s socialist dictator and as Trump promised to “run” the South American country until a democratic transition could occur.
“We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense,” Trump told The Atlantic in an interview published Jan. 4, describing the island as reportedly “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.”
The same day, Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, posted a photo of Greenland covered with the American flag. Above it, she wrote, “SOON.”
Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, responded by saying: “We expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has repeatedly rebuked Trump’s interest in colonizing Greenland. The “U.S. shall not take over Greenland,” he said in stark terms in December.
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Can Trump forcefully take Greenland?
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, which is part of NATO. It has a population of about 57,000. The island has a right to hold a national referendum on whether to declare independence, though it is heavily reliant on the Danish government.
Rufus Gifford, the former U.S. ambassador to Denmark under the Obama administration, said in January 2025 that the entire alliance would be compelled to respond to any military action against Greenland due to Denmark’s membership.
