Denmark, Greenland leaders stand united against Trump's Greenland
takeover call ahead of key meeting
[January 14, 2026]
By EMMA BURROWS, GEIR MOULSON and AAMER MADHANI
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — The leaders of Denmark and the country's
territory of Greenland on Tuesday offered a united front against
President Donald Trump's calls for the United States to take over the
strategic Arctic island on the eve of critical meetings in Washington on
the matter.
In perhaps their sharpest pushback to date, Denmark and Greenland's
prime ministers underscored that the territory is part of Denmark, and
thus covered by the umbrella of the NATO military alliance. A U.S.
attempt to take over or force the secession of the massive island would
tear apart the transatlantic alliance, which has been a linchpin of
post-World War II security.
But Trump brushed off the concern, telling reporters in Washington,
“That's their problem.”
The leaders, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime
Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, sought to underscore their solidarity as
their foreign ministers, Denmark's Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's
Vivian Motzfeldt, prepared for talks at the White House on Wednesday
with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Dear Greenlanders, you should know that we stand together today, we
will do so tomorrow, and we will continue to do so," Frederiksen said
during a joint press conference in Copenhagen.
“If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and
now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of
Denmark. We choose the EU," said Greenland's Nielsen.
Tensions have grown this month as Trump has ramped up calls for a U.S.
takeover of the island. He has repeatedly said he's considering a range
of options, including military force, to acquire Greenland.
Asked by reporters about Nielsen's comments saying Greenland preferred
to stay with Denmark, Trump said: “I disagree with him. I don’t know who
he is. I don’t know anything about him. But, that’s going to be a big
problem for him.”
Trump earlier this week reiterated his argument that the U.S. needs to
“take Greenland,” otherwise Russia or China would. He also says he’d
rather “make a deal” for the territory, “but one way or the other, we’re
going to have Greenland.”
In Greenland, ‘children are afraid,’ official says
Danish officials have made clear they are open to expanding cooperation
with the U.S. military in Greenland, but have repeatedly stated the
territory is not for sale.
Since 1945, the American military presence in Greenland has decreased
from thousands of soldiers over 17 bases and installations on the island
to just the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest with roughly 200
soldiers today. The base supports missile warning, missile defense and
space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.
Denmark’s parliament approved a bill last June to allow U.S. military
bases on Danish soil. It widened a previous military agreement, made in
2023 with the Biden administration, where U.S. troops had broad access
to Danish air bases in the Scandinavian country.
Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business and mineral
resources, said it’s “unfathomable” that the United States is discussing
taking over a NATO ally and urged the Trump administration to listen to
voices from the Arctic island's people. Nathanielsen added that people
in Greenland are “very, very worried” over the U.S. administration’s
desire for control of Greenland.
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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at Joint Base Andrews,
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Evan
Vucci)
“People are not sleeping, children are afraid, and it just fills
everything these days. And we can’t really understand it,”
Nathanielsen said at a meeting with lawmakers in Britain’s
Parliament.
Meanwhile, Danish officials have also sought to underscore that
Denmark has remained a faithful ally of the United States.
A Danish government official confirmed on Tuesday that Denmark
provided U.S. forces in the east Atlantic with support last week as
they intercepted an oil tanker for alleged violations of U.S.
sanctions.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the
sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined
to provide details about what the support entailed.
The U.S. interception in the Atlantic capped a weeks-long pursuit of
the tanker that began in the Caribbean Sea as the U.S. imposed a
blockade in the waters of Venezuela aimed at capturing sanctioned
vessels coming in and out of the South American country.
The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests
for comment. Danish support for the U.S. operation was first
reported by Newsmax.
Separately, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte refused to be drawn
into the dispute, insisting that it was not his role to get
involved.
“I never, ever comment when there are discussions within the
alliance,” Rutte said, at the European Parliament in Brussels. “My
role has to be to make sure we solve issues.”
He said that the 32-nation military alliance must focus on providing
security in the Arctic region, which includes Greenland. “When it
comes to the protection of the High North, that is my role.”
Nathanielsen said Greenlanders understand the need for increased
monitoring in the Arctic amid growing geopolitical insecurity. But
she said “it is just unfathomable to understand” that Greenland
could be facing the prospect of being sold or annexed.
A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation is headed to Copenhagen
for meetings on Friday and Saturday in an attempt to show unity
between the United States and Denmark.
Nathanielsen said she thinks the people of Greenland should have a
say in their own future.
“My deepest dream or hope is that the people of Greenland will get a
say no matter what," she said. "For others this might be a piece of
land, but for us it’s home.”
___
Moulson reported from Berlin and Madhani from Washington. Jill
Lawless in London, Darlene Superville and Matthew Lee in Washington
and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
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