After Venezuela, Donald Trump points a finger at Greenland

DONALD ruff’S appetence in the western sandwich cerebral hemisphere appears insatiable. Just a day after snatching Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s strongman leader, Mr Trump set his sights on his next target: Greenland. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One on January 4th. The MAGA machine stepped into gear. Katie Miller, wife to the president’s influential adviser Stephen Miller, posted a map of Greenland overlaid with the star-spangled banner and a caption reading: “SOON”.

Greenland and Denmark, and much of Europe, are in shock. A year ago, Mr Trump’s threats against the self-governing Arctic territory of 56,000 people, which is part of Denmark, elicited mostly derision and distaste among European leaders. This time is different. “Enough is enough,” responded Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s prime minister. “No more pressure. No more innuendo. No more fantasies about annexation.” Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, implored Mr Trump to drop the threats, adding that they “should be taken seriously”. European countries quickly closed ranks: all Nordic and Baltic leaders reaffirmed their support for Greenlandic and Danish sovereignty, as did Britain and France. But behind the show of unity there was a sense of panic.

As ever with Mr Trump, it is difficult to determine just how serious his intentions are. So far, he has offered a potpourri of reasons as to why he covets the Arctic territory: access to its natural resources; achieving prosperity for Greenlanders; and enhancing America’s national security. Recent pronouncements have the distinct tenor of America’s 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, which sought to exclude foreign powers from the western hemisphere. “It’s so strategic…Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he said.

Outright annexation remains unlikely. But Mr Trump’s interest ought to be taken seriously: he appears intent on bolstering America’s sway over the Arctic island and changing its status before his term is up. So far, the administration’s strategy appears to be two-pronged. First, it aims to cultivate elements within Greenland’s independence movement and to deepen divisions with Denmark. Second, the administration appears to be trying to strike a deal of sorts with the Arctic island, perhaps even bypassing Denmark entirely.

Start with independence. Over the past year, American officials have fomented divisions between Greenland and Denmark. During a visit in March 2025 J.D. Vance, the vice-president, criticised Denmark for failing Greenlanders. He then appeared to back independence, saying that America would “have conversations with the people of Greenland from there.” In December, Mr Trump appointed Jeff Landry, the Republican governor of Louisiana and a foreign-policy neophyte, as special envoy to Greenland. The move implied, at least to some, that America intended to treat Greenland as a separate entity from Denmark.

The CIA and the National Security Agency have also reportedly stepped up surveillance of Greenland’s independence movement, and been tasked with identifying locals sympathetic to America. The Danish government summoned American diplomats three times last year over reports of spying and running a covert influence campaign in Greenland. Denmark’s military-intelligence service raised concerns about America in its annual threat assessment last December.

At the same time, there is growing talk that the Trump administration is working on a deal to present to Greenland. Mr Trump has repeatedly compared the situation to a large real-estate deal, one that would bring great riches to Greenlanders. American officials have discussed offering a so-called Compact of Free Association (COFA) to the island, an agreement it has historically extended to small nations in the Pacific. COFAs let American armed forces operate freely in signatory countries, with the added sweetener of duty-free trade. Danes retort that Greenland already hosts an American military base, which gives Uncle Sam wide latitude in how it operates there. There are no explicit limits on the number of troops America can deploy to Greenland under the terms of a treaty with Denmark, though any significant increase or change in the American military presence would probably require the consent of Denmark. American officials have reportedly sought direct talks with the Greenland government, but so far have been rebuffed.

In any case, the administration’s repeated statements on Greenland are yet more evidence of Trumpland’s heartfelt loathing of Europe. Though European leaders have been at pains to downplay the threat, the spat has taken on a surreal quality. On January 5th, Germany’s foreign minister affirmed that, no matter what, Greenland would come under NATO’s Article 5 security guarantee; only this time against American predations. Greenlanders, for their part, are bracing for the Trumpian storm. “[Greenland] is [in] the Monroe Doctrine area”, says Kuno Fencker, a pro-independence member of Greenland’s parliament. “And we know what that means.”

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