On January 14, 2026, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeld meet with Senator Angus King (I-Minn.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Ariz.), and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in President King’s office in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2026.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
Officials from Greenland, Denmark and the United States met at the White House on Wednesday to discuss Washington’s efforts to claim controversial ownership of Greenland.
The session ended without an agreement, with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen reflecting on “fundamental differences” between US President Donald Trump and Copenhagen.
That’s not surprising.
Even before the White House convened, all parties appeared to have made their positions on the issue abundantly clear.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said on Tuesday: “If we had to choose here and now between the United States and Denmark, we would choose Denmark. We would choose NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark and the European Union.”
And in a social media post shortly before Wednesday’s meeting, President Trump reiterated his desire for unequivocal U.S. control over Greenland, insisting that “anything less is unacceptable.”
On other foreign policy fronts, the president signaled more flexibility toward Iran. President Trump suggested he might refrain from attacking Iran because “we’re hearing the killings are stopping in Iran.”
Oil prices fell about 1.5% in U.S. trading on Wednesday following his comments. However, global geopolitical turmoil and President Trump’s apparent attack on the independence of the Federal Reserve are pushing up gold and silver prices. The latter has already risen 26.6% in the first two weeks of 2026.
In the U.S. market on Wednesday, major indexes fell, led by semiconductor stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, is scheduled to announce its full-year results later today. If that provides optimistic guidance, a rapid recovery in semiconductor stocks could be on the horizon.
—CNBC’s Sam Meredith and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
President Trump and Denmark have “fundamental differences” over Greenland. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen said he made the remarks after meeting with senior US officials in Washington on Wednesday.
Tesla’s fully self-driving service is available as a monthly subscription. CEO Elon Musk said the software will no longer be sold at a flat rate after February 14th. FSD, the key to self-driving cars, starts at $99 per month, compared to a one-time price of $8,000.
President Trump allows sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China. The formal rules for recognition, announced in December, were released by the US government on Tuesday. The U.S. government will receive 25% of sales of chips not specifically designed for China.
Major U.S. indexes fell on Wednesday. Semiconductor stocks weighed on the market. broadcom, Nvidia and micron sliding. pan-european Stocks 600 It rose by 0.18%, setting a new record high. blood pressure Shares rose 1.5% even as the oil giant warned it would take $4 billion to $5 billion in impairment charges.
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And finally…
President Trump’s recent geopolitical strategies all lead to China
In 10 days, Donald Trump captured the president of Venezuela, stunned European leaders with talk of annexing Greenland, and imposed a 25% tariff on anyone trading with Iran. The common denominator could be the US’ determination to challenge China and its control of critical minerals.
By buying Venezuela’s oil industry, the United States could curb China’s access to vital resources and mining investments. Annexing Greenland would lock out rivals from new trade routes and possibly mineral extraction. By imposing tariffs on those trading with Iran, the United States could penalize both the Middle Eastern country and China, which buys oil from it.
— Tasmin Lockwood
