Trump Admits He’s Open to Using ‘Military Force’ to Seize Greenland
Fresh off J.D. Vance‘s embarrassingly truncated visit to Greenland, President Donald Trump said that using “military force” to seize the semi-autonomous territory from Denmark is not “off the table.”
“We’ll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%,” Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker in a Saturday phone call.
“No, I never take military force off the table,” the president said when Welker asked if he would forcibly seize Greenland. “But I think there’s a good possibility that we could do it without military force.”
Trump has previously said that using force is an option not only in Greenland but also Panama. Trump in his March 5 joint address to Congress said that the U.S. “need[s] Greenland for national security and even international security.” Many international shipping routes pass by Greenland, and it contains natural resources, including largely untapped reserves of natural gas, oil and highly desired minerals.
In responding to Trump’s joint address, Greenland’s prime minister said, “We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken.”
Vance visited Greenland last week, although the White House cut his planned three-day visit short after Greenland officials said the timing of the visit conflicted with coalition negotiations and was perceived as potentially interfering in domestic politics, Axios reported.
In a speech at Pituffik Space Base, the U.S.’s northernmost military outpost, Vance said the U.S. would not use military force to take Greenland — which Trump seemingly contradicted Saturday. Vance also claimed that “Greenlanders are going to choose, through self-determination, to become independent of Denmark.” Residents of Greenland, however, overwhelmingly do not want the U.S. to take over.
“Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance said. “You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people.”
This prompted the Danish foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, to clap back in a video posted on social media.
“Many accusations and many allegations have been made. And of course, we are open to criticism,” Rasmussen said. “But let me be completely honest: we do not appreciate the tone in which it is being delivered. This is not how you speak to your close allies. And I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies.”
Rasmussen went on to say that Denmark respects “that the United States needs a greater military presence in Greenland,” adding, “We — Denmark and Greenland — are very much open to discussing this with you, with an open mind.”
