President Trump doubled down on his desire to take over Greenland just hours after the prime minister of Denmark urged him to “stop the threats” to annex the territory.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. He added that he thought Denmark was not doing enough to safeguard Greenland, an island in the North Atlantic that is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
Mr. Trump made his comments as worries grew in Denmark and other countries about his international ambitions after the U.S. military raided Venezuela and seized Nicolás Maduro, its former authoritarian leader.
After the military operation in Venezuela, Mr. Trump reiterated his ambition to take over the Danish territory. “We do need Greenland, absolutely,” he told The Atlantic, claiming that the island was “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.”
On Sunday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark addressed the United States “very directly” to reiterate that Washington had “no right to annex” Greenland. “I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally,” she said in a statement, adding that Greenlanders “have said very clearly that they are not for sale.”
Ms. Frederiksen noted that Denmark was part of NATO and that a defense agreement with the United States gave Washington “wide access to Greenland” already.
Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland also rejected Mr. Trump’s comments, writing on social media that the president’s rhetoric was “utterly unacceptable” and that his efforts to link Venezuela with Greenland were “wrong” and “disrespectful.”
The statements from the leaders of Denmark and Greenland followed another American provocation: a post on social media from Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller, one of Mr. Trump’s top advisers. “SOON,” she wrote, with a map of Greenland shaded in by the American flag.
Jesper Moller Sorensen, Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, responded with a “friendly reminder” that Denmark expected “full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
A number of Denmark’s European neighbors, as well as the European Union, repeated their longstanding support for the country’s territorial integrity.
“We would recall that Greenland is an ally to the U.S. and is also covered by the NATO alliance, and that is a big, big difference” from the situation in Venezuela, Paula Pinho, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, said at a news conference on Monday.
“No one decides for Greenland and Denmark but Greenland and Denmark themselves,” President Alexander Stubb of Finland wrote on social media.
Mr. Trump’s comments were the latest in a series of actions that have unsettled the leaders of Denmark and Greenland in recent months.
Last month, he outraged officials by appointing a special envoy to the island. It was believed to be the first time that the United States had done so, and it was seen as part of his efforts to take over the territory. Also last month, Denmark’s military intelligence warned about the United States for the first time in its annual threat assessment, saying that shifts in American policy were generating new uncertainties for Danish security.
The Danish government has also expressed anger over reports that the United States was spying on Greenland and running a covert influence campaign there.
Mr. Trump’s designs on Greenland have become more alarming for Denmark since the U.S. raid on Venezuela, even though few Danes expect an imminent invasion, said Mikkel Runge Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies.
“It has gained a lot of traction in Denmark and it has generated a lot of worry,” he said.
The raid on Venezuela “shows the U.S. willingness to use force,” Dr. Olesen added, but he cautioned that comparing the two situations was “a bit of a leap.” American-Venezuelan relations have been “horrible for decades,” he said. “It’s a completely different ballgame to go and invade a NATO ally.”
Jeanna Smialek contributed reporting from Brussels.
Amelia Nierenberg is a Times reporter covering international news from London.
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