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Just one day after the U.S. military captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States should move to take control of Greenland, citing national security concerns.
The comments signaled that the administration plans to take a more assertive role across the Western Hemisphere following the Venezuela operation, which removed Maduro from power in Caracas. President Trump’s remarks also reignited debate in Denmark, which oversees Greenland, about his long-standing interest in the vast Arctic territory.
“It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
When asked about his plans for the island, President Trump added, “We’ll worry about Greenland in two months. Let’s talk about Greenland in … 20 days.”
In an earlier interview with The Atlantic, President Trump declined to link the U.S. military operation in Venezuela directly to Greenland but said, “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know.” The White House did not comment further.
The president’s recent National Security Strategy identifies “restoring American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere” as a cornerstone of his second term, drawing inspiration from the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine and its later expansion under President Theodore Roosevelt. President Trump has even joked that some aides now refer to it as the “Don-roe Doctrine.”
The renewed focus on Greenland alarmed Danish officials. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen urged the U.S. to “stop threatening a historically close ally.”
“I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. to stop threatening a historically close ally and another country and people who have made it very clear that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said in a statement. She also noted that, as a NATO member, Denmark already grants broad U.S. access to Greenland under existing defense agreements.
President Trump first raised the idea of acquiring Greenland during his transition and early months in office, repeatedly calling for U.S. jurisdiction over the island. The topic resurfaced recently when he announced plans to appoint Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland.
Landry said he would work to “make Greenland a part of the U.S.” in his new volunteer role, describing the island as vital to America’s Arctic strategy.
