President Donald Trump has his eyes on Greenland. “Ownership is very important,” he told the New York Times in an interview published on Jan. 8, 2026. Onboard Air Force One later that month, the US president revealed that they had “started a negotiation”. He said: “I think it’s going to be a good deal for everybody.”
Greenland, the world’s biggest island, is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The autonomous territory was a Danish colony up until 1953. So, why does the president of the United States want Greenland and what has King Frederik of Denmark said about the matter? Continue reading for more…
But first, where is Greenland?
Greenland is located between northern Canada and Iceland. The capital, Nuuk, is about 3,532 kilometers from the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, and about 3,268 kilometers from Washington, D.C.
American interest in the territory actually started long before President Trump. On the Danish Institute for International Studies website, senior researcher Mikkel Runge Olesen noted: “Since the 1800s, various American administrations considered acquiring the island. After World War II, the U.S. valued its bases in Greenland and was reluctant to give them up.
“It was the Danish ambassador Henrik Kauffmann that first invited the Americans to Greenland during the Second World War, but the agreement that he struck with the US was set to expire with the end of the war. President Harry Truman even offered $100 million to buy Greenland, but Denmark refused. It was only after Denmark joined NATO that a 1951 agreement formalized the continued U.S. military presence on the island.”
“The United States already enjoys extensive access and freedom of action under long‑standing agreements with Denmark and with Greenland’s self‑government acknowledged, so Greenland is not an unsecured frontier, but a mature theater governed by formal cooperation between Denmark, Greenland and the US,” Mikkel added.
© POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesSo, why does President Trump want Greenland?
For the 45th and 47th President of the United States, owning the territory is “psychologically needed for success”. When asked by the New York Times why he needed to possess Greenland, President Trump answered: “Because that’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success. I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do, whether you’re talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document.”
According to the president, the “United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security”. In a Truth Social post on January 14, 2026, he wrote: “It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term, and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, NATO would not be an effective force or deterrent – Not even close! They know that, and so do I. NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES.”
Similarly, Vice President JD Vance has described Greenland as being “very important” to the country’s national security. During his visit to Armenia in February 2026, the vice president told reporters: “I do think that some of our allies have under-invested in Arctic security, and if we’re going to invest in Arctic security, if we’re going to basically pay a lot of money and be on the hook for protecting this massive landmass, I think it’s only reasonable for the United States to get some benefit out of that, and that’s going to be the focus of the negotiations here over the next few months.”
Mikkel pointed out on the Danish Institute for International Studies’ website that “Greenland matters for American security primarily because of geography”. He explained that Greenland “sits astride the air and maritime approaches to North America, which is why early‑warning, space surveillance, and missile‑defense functions have been anchored there for decades. Add to this the Greenlandic role in the so-called Greenland-Iceland-UK-gap (GIUK-gap), crucial strategic waterways when it comes to having control of Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic.”
In President Trump’s speech at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, he remarked: “We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won’t do that. Okay, now everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, good.’ That’s probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.”
The president announced on January 21, 2026 that a “framework of a future deal” had been formed. “Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,” President Trump posted on Truth Social.
Discussing the deal with reporters, the president shared (via Reuters): “It’s a deal that everybody’s very happy with.” “It’s a long-term deal. It’s the ultimate long-term deal,” he added. “It puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and to minerals.”
© IDA MARIE ODGAARD/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty ImagesWhat has King Frederik said about President Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland?
Frederik, who ascended the Danish throne on January 14, 2024, is Greenland’s head of state. He first visited the autonomous territory as its monarch in July of 2024. Prior to returning in 2025, the king of Denmark expressed his love for Greenland. In a statement shared by the Danish Royal House on March 28, 2025, Frederik said: “We live in an altered reality. There should be no doubt that my love for Greenland and my connectedness to the people of Greenland are intact.”
The king is set to travel to Denmark once again in February 2026. “I sense that they are worried, and for me it’s a pleasure to go and meet them,” the king told reporters while in Lithuania, per Reuters.
Before Frederik’s trip to Greenland in 2025, political commentator Noa Redington said (via Reuters): “His presence and especially his welcome will send a very clear signal that Denmark and Greenland belong together for now.”
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