President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil industry executives and answers questions from reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2026.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration would take action against Greenland “whether we like it or not,” further escalating the rhetoric as the United States pushes to acquire Danish territory.
“I want to get a deal the easy way. But if we can’t get a deal the easy way, we’re going to get a deal the hard way,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
The comments came during a meeting with oil company executives to discuss prospects for business in Venezuela. Less than a week later, U.S. forces invaded the oil-rich South American country and captured leader Nicolas Maduro.
President Trump has sought to take over Greenland, citing the importance of the Arctic island to U.S. national security.
Denmark and its European allies in NATO, the military alliance co-founded by the United States, pushed back, repeatedly insisting that Greenland was not for sale. Despite this, the Trump administration says it is currently considering various options for Greenland, including using the U.S. military and entering into a deal to buy Greenland from Denmark.
Reuters reported on Thursday that government officials are also considering transferring cash in bulk to Greenlanders to encourage them to join the United States.
Asked Friday how much those payments could be, President Trump said, “We haven’t talked about money for Greenland yet.”
“We may talk about it, but we’re going to do something in Greenland right now whether they like it or not,” Trump said.
“Because if we don’t do that, Russia or China will take over Greenland and we can’t have Russia or China as neighbors,” he said.
Trump is a “huge fan” of Denmark, but said: “The fact that Denmark parked their boats there 500 years ago doesn’t mean they own that land. (I’m) sure they would have sent a lot of boats to Denmark as well.”
“So we are going to do something for Greenland, both in a good way and in a more difficult way,” he said.
The US military already maintains a base in Greenland and reportedly has the ability to expand its presence if necessary.
But that’s not enough, Trump said.
“When we own it, we protect it. We need to own it, not protect the lease the same way,” he said.
