The prime minister of Denmark has told Donald Trump to stop making threats about Greenland, speaking directly to the US president as concerns grow that his rhetoric is moving from provocation toward pressure.
“It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in an official statement published Sunday, according to the Danish government. “The United States has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom.”
🚨🇩🇰🇺🇸BREAKING: Denmark’s PM calls on Trump to stop ‘threats’ over Greenland pic.twitter.com/URLwIFQ8mc
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) January 4, 2026
Frederiksen said she was addressing Washington “very directly,” stressing that Denmark, and Greenland, are NATO members and already covered by the alliance’s security guarantees. Denmark, she added, already has a defense agreement with the US that gives American forces wide access to Greenland.
The unusually blunt intervention came after Trump allies reignited speculation about US control of the Arctic territory. Katie Miller, the wife of senior Trump aide Stephen Miller, posted an image of Greenland colored as a US flag with the word “SOON,” according to BBC News.
Greenland and Denmark on Sunday expressed their distaste after the wife of President Donald Trump’s most influential aide posted a social media picture of Greenland painted in the colours of the US flag.
Katie Miller – wife of Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller – put… pic.twitter.com/rV3Z1tGTwi
— KUWAIT TIMES (@kuwaittimesnews) January 4, 2026
The post quickly circulated online, fuelling searches for “Greenland next” and prompting a response from Danish officials. Denmark’s ambassador to the United States issued what he called a “friendly reminder” that the two countries are close allies and that Greenland is already part of NATO, according to a post shared on X by the Danish embassy.
“We expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen wrote, adding that Denmark had committed billions of dollars to Arctic security in 2025 alone.
Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of Greenland becoming part of the United States, first floating the notion publicly in 2019. In recent interviews, he has described the island as essential to US defense, citing its location and mineral resources, according to Arctic Today.
Will Trump acquire Greenland before 2027?
Greenland is the largest island in the world
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark with a strong desire for independence
> Why does Trump want to acquire Greenland?
– to gain military control over the… pic.twitter.com/V43EL0PRMR
— Xatacrypt (@xatacrypt) December 29, 2025
Asked whether force could be used, Trump has declined to rule it out. “We do need Greenland, absolutely,” he said in a telephone interview with The Atlantic, via Arctic Today. “We need it for defense.”
The renewed focus on Greenland follows a dramatic US military operation in Venezuela, where American forces captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and removed them to New York. Trump later said the US would “run” Venezuela and that American oil companies would “start making money for the country,” according to Reuters.
Arctic Today notes that operation has sharpened concerns in Europe about how far the Trump administration is willing to go.
“I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have said very clearly that they are not for sale.”
-Danish PM Mette Frederiksen pic.twitter.com/k1t5YcsDvw
— Anthony LaMesa (@ajlamesa) January 4, 2026
India Today reports that Jeffrey Sachs, a Columbia University economist, warned that Greenland could be next if Washington invokes national security grounds. Speaking during a discussion with Norwegian political scientist Glenn Diesen, Sachs said the US was dismantling international law “in real time.”
“One day, Trump will say, ‘We have a national emergency,’ and Greenland will be occupied,” Sachs said, adding: “Don’t be surprised when it happens.”
Sachs linked Trump’s Greenland rhetoric to a broader pattern of unilateral action, pointing to past US interventions carried out without UN authorisation. Europe, he warned, should not assume the pressure will remain confined to Latin America.
JIST IN:
🇩🇰🇺🇸 Greenlandic and Danish PMs warns Trump to show ‘RESPECT’
“You cannot annex another country”
Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a joint statement
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the US shall not take over… pic.twitter.com/S0dvW30x5g
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) December 22, 2025
Greenland, which has a population of about 57,000, has enjoyed extensive self-rule since 1979, though defence and foreign policy remain under Danish control. While many Greenlanders support eventual independence from Denmark, polling consistently shows overwhelming opposition to becoming part of the United States.
Frederiksen said Denmark had already increased its Arctic security spending and cooperation with Washington, making any suggestion of annexation unnecessary and destabilising.
“I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally,” she said, “and against another people who have very clearly said that they are not for sale.”
