From 2019 to a 2026 Framework: Trump's Long Push to Control Greenland

President Donald Trump's ambition to bring Greenland under U.S. control first surfaced publicly in 2019, when he floated buying the semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark during his first term. He described the idea as not his top priority, but Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected it as absurd, prompting Trump to call off a planned trip to Denmark over what he called a nasty statement.

Weeks before his second term began, in December 2024, Trump revived the idea, calling ownership and control of Greenland an absolute necessity. Greenland's prime minister, Múte Bourup Egede, responded that the island was not for sale and never would be.

In January 2025, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., visited Greenland, and the president-elect said he would not rule out military force to take control. Greenlanders elected a new parliament in March 2025, handing victory to Jens-Frederik Nielsen's Demokraatit party; all five parties in the legislature then rejected Trump's talk of a U.S. takeover. Four of the five later formed a coalition government with Nielsen as prime minister.

Vice President JD Vance visited the U.S. Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland on March 28, 2025, accusing Denmark of underinvesting in the island's security. Denmark's foreign minister rebuked Washington for the tone of its criticism the next day, while Trump said he never takes military force off the table. In August 2025, Copenhagen summoned the top U.S. diplomat after a Danish broadcaster reported that at least three people linked to Trump were conducting covert influence operations in Greenland.

Trump announced in December 2025 that he was appointing Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as U.S. special envoy to Greenland; Landry called it an honour to serve in a role aimed at making Greenland part of the U.S. Denmark and Greenland's leaders insisted the island would not be taken over, and the Danish foreign minister summoned the U.S. ambassador.

Talk of a takeover flared again in January 2026 after the U.S. ousted Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela's president. Frederiksen warned that an American military takeover of Greenland would mean the end of NATO, and major European leaders joined her in defending Greenland's sovereignty. The White House said using the U.S. military was always an option for Trump. Trump said in an interview that he needed to possess all of Greenland rather than rely on a long-standing treaty granting wide latitude for military posts. Greenlandic Prime Minister Nielsen said Greenland would choose Denmark if forced to choose between Washington and Copenhagen.

On January 14, 2026, the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers met Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. They agreed to set up a working group, though Denmark and the White House offered sharply differing public accounts of its purpose. Denmark announced plans to boost its military presence in the Arctic, and several European allies said they would send small numbers of troops for reconnaissance. Danish media later reported that Copenhagen had prepared for a real conflict, deploying with explosives and blood supplies.

Trump said in mid-January 2026 that he might punish countries with tariffs if they did not back U.S. control of Greenland, then announced a 10% import tax from February on goods from eight European nations over their opposition. An exchange of texts with Norway's prime minister showed Trump linking his stance to not winning the Nobel Peace Prize and saying he no longer felt an obligation to think purely of peace. Hours after saying he wanted Greenland including right, title and ownership, Trump scrapped the threatened tariffs on January 21, saying he had agreed with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on a framework for a future deal on Arctic security. Technical talks between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland began on January 28.

In February 2026, Trump said he would deploy a hospital ship to Greenland, alleging many people there were sick and untreated, after Denmark's military evacuated a U.S. submarine crew member off Greenland for urgent care. Nielsen responded with a no thank you. In July, ahead of a NATO summit, Trump renewed tensions by saying Greenland should be controlled by the United States, not Denmark; Frederiksen repeated that the island was not for sale and said Denmark was ready to defend every inch of NATO territory, including its own.

On September 18, 2026, Trump announced a deal to bolster the U.S. military presence in Greenland. Danish officials were cautiously optimistic, with Frederiksen stressing that the planned agreement recognised Denmark's sovereignty and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination.