As President Donald Trump renews his push to acquire the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland, the White House says it would consider using military force if needed, a stunning threat against a NATO ally that would undermine the decades-old defense pact.
The remarks by Trump and his top aides have sent waves of alarm across European capitals, prompting some of their most forceful responses to date and a warning by Denmark that military intervention would effectively end the NATO alliance. It comes days after the United States used its military to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Here’s what to know.
Why is Greenland so appealing for Trump?
Rich in untapped natural resources, sparsely populated and strategically located in the Arctic, Greenland has been a recurring fixation of Trump’s since his first term in office — when he floated the possibility that the United States purchase the island from Denmark, of which it is an autonomous territory. Denmark flatly rejected the prospect.
The island has deposits of diamonds, graphite, lithium, copper, nickel and gallium. It also has oil and rare earth minerals, such as neodymium and dysprosium, of which China and Russia are the top global producers, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry.
The island, which is technically part of the North American continent, is strategically situated along the GIUK Gap, named for the initials of Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, where NATO monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic. Over the weekend, Trump complained that the island was “covered” in Russian and Chinese ships. In response, European officials said that while Moscow and Beijing have increased their activity in the region, most of that is elsewhere in the Arctic, with no current spike in activity near Greenland.
The United States already has a military base on the island, Pituffik Space Base, which was erected in the early years of the Cold War in a strategic location for missile defense and space surveillance missions, according to the U.S. Space Force.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Tuesday that acquiring Greenland is a “national security priority” of the United States that would serve as a vital deterrence to Washington’s adversaries in the Arctic region. “The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” she said.
Late Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that the escalation in rhetoric was part of a wider strategy to ramp up pressure on Denmark to sell the territory, one official familiar with the briefing said.
How has Denmark responded?
Greenland has been part of Denmark for over 300 years, initially as a colony and then from 1953 as an autonomous territory. In 2009, the island approved the Self-Government Act, allowing for greater home rule — but responsibility for its defense and foreign policy remains with Denmark.
Trump’s aspirations to purchase Greenland strained relations with Denmark during his first term. When Trump returned to office last year and the issue arose again, Danish officials reiterated that Greenland was not for sale, but also committed to working with Washington on bolstering the U.S. security presence on the island and potentially increasing U.S. investments in mining. Danish leaders also said they increased spending on Arctic security by $13.7 billion last year.
On Sunday, a day after the U.S. military’s operation in Venezuela, Trump told reporters, “Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has since responded directly to the suggestion the U.S. could use force to seize the island. “If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, everything will stop — including NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of World War II,” Frederiksen told a Danish television outlet.
Several European leaders also offered their support to Denmark. France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Britain, along with Frederiksen, issued a joint statement Tuesday that “the inviolability of borders” is a universal principle and that “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.” The statement was also backed by Canada and the Netherlands.
What do Greenlanders think about Trump’s aspirations?
Two surveys conducted by Greenlandic and Danish newspapers last year found that an overwhelming majority of Greenlanders were opposed to annexation or becoming part of the United States, although the Danish poll also found that a majority of respondents supported independence from Denmark.
As an autonomous territory, Greenland has the right to declare independence. The island has a population of around 57,000, about 90 percent of whom are of Inuit descent.
In interviews with The Washington Post last month, most people were adamant that their homeland wasn’t for sale. The territory’s leadership has said they welcome investment from foreign countries, but are not seeking new overseers.
In a news conference this week, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen urged his fellow islanders to stay calm and united. “We are not in a situation where we think that there might be a takeover of the country overnight and that is why we are insisting that we want good cooperation,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “The situation is not such that the United States can simply conquer Greenland.”
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