January 6, 2026
He’s not trolling. He’s not joking. It is becoming increasingly clear that President Trump is serious about the United States “taking” Greenland. The White House said just a short time ago “the president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal.”
Utilizing the military? On a NATO ally? In case you didn’t know Greenland is a territory of Denmark. A NATO ally. And in case you didn’t — the United States already has a presence on Greenland. We have a military base there – like we have on the soil of other NATO allies. The base in Greenland used to be an air force base and is now a space force base. So there’s already a US military presence there which raises the question of why is President Trump insisting that the United States take Greenland away from Denmark and make it part of the United States?
Here’s what Trump said about it just a few days ago.
I think it’s helpful to understand what Trump is talking about by looking at a map. Here’s Greenland and here’s the United States. It’s relatively close. Now – it’s unclear exactly where those Russian and Chinese ships are sitting right now but obviously Trump believes it’s too close for comfort. But as I mentioned, we have a US military base on Greenland — and most military experts will say that the Daines and the Greenlanders are willing to work with the United States with any kind of strategic military operations the US wants to run. So why does Trump want Greenland to be part of the United States? He has not specifically said. It’s also unclear what legal rational Trump could use to justify taking Greenland with military force from a NATO ally. We are not at war with a NATO ally. Drugs are not coming from Greenland. And again – we already have a military base there with partners who are voluntarily willing to work with us.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested to lawmakers that the United States may be willing to purchase Greenland – but the Greenlanders and the Daines say it’s not for sale. And they’re not the only ones talking.
Today our other European NATO allies including the president of France, the chancellor of Germany, the prime ministers of Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom along with the prime minister of Denmark released this statement directed at President Trump without mentioning his name once. The statement says “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.” They also said that security for the artic is priority for Europe too and therefore NATO must collectively work together to defend that region. Interestingly – they also said in the letter that NATO – including the United States have always upheld “the principles of the un charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them.
Does that mean if Trump moves forward with some military operation to take Greenland over the objection of Denmark NATO will defend Greenland against the United States? Or does it mean NATO will simply no longer exist?
Look – there are a lot of what ifs here. But if we use Trump’s past actions as a guide – he said for months he was going to use military action in Venezuela. And he just did. He’s been talking about taking Greenland since his inauguration.
Read the European NATO ally letter here.
