Denmark told Donald Trump that Greenland isn’t for sale. So now, he’s considering cutting out the middleman.
The Trump administration is discussing sending lump-sum payments to citizens of Greenland—an autonomous territory within NATO ally Denmark—as an incentive to secede from the Nordic country, four White House officials told Reuters.
Two White House insiders told Reuters that figures between $10,000 and $100,000 have been discussed, adding that nothing is off the table yet.
Trump’s increasingly frequent assertions that “We do need Greenland, absolutely,” for defense have spelled trouble for Denmark, whose leaders have repeatedly told the president they will not give up the world’s largest island. Greenland is home to roughly 57,000 residents and is located northeast of Canada.
Instead of backing off, White House officials appear to have grown more confident following the U.S.’s late-night invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of the country’s president on Saturday.
Now, administration officials say they are “discussing a range of options” to acquire the Danish territory. In a statement to the Daily Beast on Tuesday, a White House official added that “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal.”
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later doubled down, refusing to rule out the use of military force—though Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted to walk back the assertion on Wednesday that the U.S. would take Greenland by force.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded bluntly: “Enough is enough… No more fantasies about annexation.”
Denmark, meanwhile, has looked to its European neighbors for support. On Tuesday, several of America’s closest allies rallied behind the Arctic territory in an open letter urging the U.S. to back off.
“Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” the letter stated.
The message was signed by leaders of seven of America’s allies, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
In her annual New Year’s speech, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also reiterated her opposition to Trump’s potential land grab.
“In the past year, we have had to pay attention to a lot. Threats. Pressure. Derogatory language. From our closest ally for a lifetime. About wanting to take over another country, another people. As if it was something you could buy and own,” Frederiksen said.
“We are not the ones seeking conflict. But let no one be in any doubt: No matter what happens, we will stand firm on what is right and wrong.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
The post Billionaire Trump Considers Bribing Greenland to Join U.S. appeared first on The Daily Beast.
