This aerial photo shows an iceberg floating in the sun-beaten sea with buildings in the background off the coast of Nuuk, Greenland, on March 11, 2025, the day of parliamentary elections in the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland.
Odd Andersen | AFP | Getty Images
Denmark is in “full crisis mode” after US President Donald Trump once again set his sights on Greenland following the attack on Venezuela.
“We need Greenland from a national security standpoint, but I can tell you that Denmark can’t do it,” Trump said on Air Force One on Sunday, repeating similar comments he made separately to The Atlantic.
His comments came a day after the United States conducted a major military operation in Venezuela and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a surprise intervention that shocked the world.
This is causing alarm in Denmark, which is responsible for the defense of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
“We have to say it directly to the US: It is completely pointless to talk about the need for the US to occupy Greenland,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (left), and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) (center) speak to the media aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, DC, on January 4, 2026.
Joe Radle | Getty Images News | Getty Images
“The Kingdom of Denmark, and by extension Greenland, is part of NATO and is therefore subject to the security of the alliance. Today, we already have a defense agreement between the Kingdom and the United States, which gives the United States extensive access to Greenland,” Frederiksen said.
“Therefore, I urge the United States to end its threats against our historically close allies and against other countries and peoples that we have clearly stated are not for sale.”
Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said on social media that President Trump’s comments were “extremely rude and disrespectful.”
“Greenland risk is cheap.”
President Trump has long claimed control of Greenland, a vast mineral-rich, sparsely populated territory strategically located between Europe and North America.
Previous polls have shown that while an overwhelming majority of Greenlanders oppose U.S. rule, an overwhelming majority support independence from Denmark.
In recent months, Copenhagen has sought to improve relations with Greenland, pledging to increase spending on health and infrastructure, while also trying to ease tensions with the Trump administration with investments in Arctic defense, including the purchase of 16 more F-35 fighter jets.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen attends a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office in Berlin, Germany, on January 28, 2025.
Nadja Wohlleben | Reuters
Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said the Danish government was in “full crisis mode” over President Trump’s recent comments, citing Frederiksen’s comments over the weekend.
“As I have argued for years, the risks to Greenland are underestimated,” Rahman said in a LinkedIn post on Sunday.
“The potential for U.S. intervention in Greenland currently represents the greatest source of risk to the Atlantic Alliance and cohesion within NATO and within the European Union, perhaps far greater than the risk posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Rahman said.
The US president has so far refused to rule out using military or economic force to occupy Greenland, but last month he appointed Louisiana Republican Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland.
The appointment was condemned by both Denmark and Greenland. Landry has publicly supported President Trump’s efforts to bring Greenland under U.S. control.
Katie Miller, wife of White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, posted a map of Greenland covered in stars and stripes to X shortly after Maduro was detained on Saturday with the caption “Coming soon.”
