One of President Donald Trump’s rhetorical threats came true on Saturday when U.S. forces attacked the capital of Venezuela and ousted the country’s President Nicolas Maduro.
In the days since, my frequent thoughts about other items on my foreign policy wish list, particularly my repeated desire for the United States to occupy Greenland, a vast autonomous territory in the Arctic region ruled by Denmark, have taken on new force.
In the wake of this brazen display of American military power in Venezuela, this rhetoric has taken on a different character, straining relations with Washington, a NATO ally.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reiterated on Monday that she had already “made the position of the Kingdom of Denmark very clear and has repeatedly stated that it does not want Greenland to become part of the United States.”
She even warned that it could lead to the collapse of the NATO alliance.
And for many Greenlanders themselves, any discussion of the US occupying their territory means “total disrespect,” Greenlandic film director Inuk Siris Hague told CNN.
So why does President Trump continue to focus on this remote, sparsely populated island, and why is it causing tensions with Europe?
Here’s what you need to know:
What kind of place is Greenland?
Greenland, an 836,000 square mile (2.16 million square kilometer) resource-rich island located in the Arctic, was once a Danish colony and is now an autonomous Danish territory.
It is the least densely populated country in the world, and much of it is under ice. Its 56,000 residents travel mainly by boat, helicopter, and plane between island towns scattered along the west coast. The capital, Nuuk, is the epitome of these towns, with its brightly colored houses clustered between a jagged coastline and inland mountains.
Outside of the cities, Greenland is mostly wilderness, with 81% of the country under ice. Nearly 90% of the population is of Inuit origin, and its economy has long revolved around fishing.
Because individuals cannot own land in Greenland, “the way we see our country as real estate is more provocative than ever for us,” Hague said.
Three interrelated factors, highlighted by the climate crisis, make Greenland a strategically important region: its geopolitical location, natural resources, and surrounding potential northern shipping routes.
Greenland is located between the United States and Europe, straddling the so-called GIUK Gap, the sea route between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom that connects the North Pole and the Atlantic Ocean. This location has become essential for controlling access to the North Atlantic, both for trade and security.
China’s rich natural resources, including oil, gas and rare earth minerals, are gaining strategic importance as China leverages its dominance of the rare earth industry to put pressure on the United States. These minerals are vital to the global economy, as they are needed to make everything from electric cars and wind turbines to military equipment.
As the climate crisis melts Arctic ice, Greenland’s mineral resources may become more accessible, but the mountainous terrain, lack of infrastructure and environmental regulations will likely make mining difficult.
Melting ice also makes northern shipping lanes navigable year-round, with implications for both trade and security.
President Trump has downplayed the importance of Greenland’s natural resources, telling reporters last month, “We need Greenland for national security, not for its minerals.”
However, former National Security Adviser Mike Walz hinted in January 2024 that President Trump was focused on natural resources, telling Fox News that the administration’s focus on Greenland was on “critical minerals” and “natural resources.”
All of this means the United States, China and Russia are competing over the Arctic region as the climate crisis changes its geography.
With more than a quarter of Russia’s territory located in the Arctic, the Russian government has always considered the region essential to its defense. In recent years, China has also entered the fray, declaring itself a “near-Arctic state” in 2018 and pursuing the goal of a “Polar Silk Road” for Arctic shipping.
A day after U.S. forces took Maduro from his home, President Trump reiterated that the United States needs Greenland “from a national security standpoint.”
“Greenland is covered in Russian and Chinese ships everywhere,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, even though he initially said he didn’t want to talk about it. “We need Greenland from a national security perspective, but Denmark won’t be able to do it.”
The White House said on Tuesday that it was “discussing various options” to acquire Greenland, and that the use of U.S. troops was not out of the question.
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers this week that the Trump administration is considering buying Greenland and downplayed the possibility of military intervention in the short term, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
Despite inquiring about the possibility of purchasing Greenland during his first term and being told by Greenland that “Greenland is not for sale,” President Trump revived that call in December 2024, saying in a social media post that “for the purposes of national security and freedom around the world, the United States of America feels that ownership and control of Greenland is absolutely necessary.”
Vice President J.D. Vance visited the island in March 2025 and said it was “American policy” to see a change in the Danish leadership on the island, but acknowledged that Greenlanders should decide their own future.
Polls in Greenland show clear opposition to becoming part of the United States.
The United States already has a security foothold in Greenland, a legacy of the Cold War era when Greenland’s proximity to Russia made it an important surveillance base in case of a missile attack.
In 1951, it signed a defense agreement with Denmark, allowing it to station troops at military bases that are still in use, although on a much smaller scale.
The United States had previously attempted to purchase Greenland several times, most recently in 1946.
Christian Kjeldsen, CEO of the Greenland Business Association, said the two countries have had close ties for many years and maintained “a good basis for doing business.”
“There are no barriers to U.S. investment in Greenland’s energy, mining, tourism, etc.,” he told CNN.
If the United States takes military action to seize Greenland, a possibility that President Trump has explicitly rejected, the NATO alliance could collapse.
“If the United States chooses to militarily attack another NATO member, everything, including NATO, will cease, and therefore the security that has been provided since the end of World War II will cease,” Frederiksen said on Monday.
On Tuesday, leaders of major European countries expressed support for Denmark and Greenland, adding that the security of the Arctic must be jointly safeguarded with NATO allies, including the United States.
In a joint statement, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and Denmark said: “Greenland belongs to its people. Denmark and Greenland, and they alone, decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland.”
“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and that our European allies are stepping up.”
What do Greenlanders think?
President Trump’s frequent stances on Greenland strike at the heart of politics in the region, which has long been shaped by Denmark’s colonial legacy.
During the wave of decolonization that swept the world after World War II, the country was incorporated into Denmark in 1953, and autonomy was granted in 1979. Although it gained autonomy in 2009, its foreign affairs, security, defense and financial policies are all still controlled by Denmark.
Greenlandic politicians have promised to take steps toward independence, but have not given a concrete timeline. Not all Greenlanders want independence from Denmark, but few want to trade Denmark for American leadership.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said the US comments were “completely unacceptable”.
“For the president of the United States to say ‘we need Greenland’ and link the United States to Venezuela and military intervention is not just wrong; it’s disrespectful,” he said in a statement.
“There is no longer any illusion of annexation,” Nielsen added. “We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussion. But it must be done through appropriate channels and with respect for international law…Greenland is our homeland, our territory, and that will always be the case.”
Greenlanders have responded primarily by reasserting their national identity through actions such as posting the Greenland flag on social media, Haeg said.
“This is upsetting to a lot of people, but I think a lot of it is a lack of respect, feeling like the U.S. government is trying to go over our heads and buy us.”
Still, some of Trump’s comments have been “received very positively” by a few Greenlanders, such as Kuno Fenker, a member of parliament for the pro-American opposition Narerak party.
“If he says Greenland has a right to self-determination or it could join the United States, that’s a big offer from the president of the United States,” Fenker told CNN.
