Greenland may be the world’s largest island, but it is home to just 57,000 people. Unfortunately, that population has again found itself in the middle of the hottest discussions in global politics, thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump.
He is now talking of acquiring the Arctic territory and might even be using military force and cash-heavy incentives. After all, the President did not rule out chances of military action in the territory when telling The New York Times, “I don’t need international law.”
But Denmark and other European countries are no longer laughing it off. Instead, they may send European troops to the island as it is not for sale, per The US Sun.
The same idea was once dismissed, as they thought Trump was just boasting about taking over Greenland. Now it is a genuine security crisis that can potentially crack NATO from the inside.
The White House has actually confirmed that Trump is discussing “a range of options” to acquire Greenland as it is apparently a U.S. “national security priority.”
Those options include military force, as we mentioned. Though Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there are no current plans to invade, the U.S. might just be buying the country instead.
Trump officially calls for the purchase of Greenland, stating, “For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the US feels that the ownership of Greenland is a necessity.”
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To add to this, Trump said that Greenland “needs” the U.S. for security. His ally Stephen Miller called it the “formal position” of the government that Greenland should become part of the United States.
Miller’s wife, Katie, posted a map of Greenland draped in the flag of the U.S and went so far as to caption it: “SOON.”
The situation is only getting worse, as many reports are saying that Washington is exploring outright purchase deals with the Compact of Free Association. The latter essentially trades money and/or economic concessions for military access.
One report from The US Sun suggests members of Trump’s team are reportedly considering plans to offer each islander between $10,000 and $100,000 in an effort to encourage independence from Denmark and alignment with the United States.
Denmark’s media and politicians see these prospective payouts as typical American cheque-book diplomacy. For months, European leaders thought that downplaying the drama could work, but clearly they no longer think so.
A joint statement from Denmark, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain declared that Greenland belongs to its people, and only itself and Denmark can decide its future. They also say Arctic security should only be handled through NATO.
Then again, NATO ambassadors are now discussing how to reinforce the Arctic. They are considering rotating European troops into Greenland, boosting surveillance and intelligence capabilities, increasing Arctic defence spending, and holding more military exercises.
What they mean is that if Trump’s concern is security, Europe can help with it and there is no need to change borders.
JUST IN: 🇩🇰🇺🇸 Denmark warns it will “shoot first and ask questions later” if the US invades Greenland. pic.twitter.com/S3bgXw8J4e
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) January 7, 2026
Meanwhile, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that any U.S. attack on Greenland would mean “everything stops,” including NATO. Some Danish lawmakers are openly calling for European boots on the ground, though analysts caution that troop deployments shouldn’t be seen as appeasing Trump.
Greenland’s own leaders have been clear, too. Their Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, called for “respectful dialogue” in keeping with international law.
The streets are now filled with protest and Inuit flags and signs like “Kalaallit don’t want to be annexed.” As NATO was built to defend against outside threats, a security expert told DW, even having this conversation is a win for Vladimir Putin.
