Donald Trump has declared his intention to impose tariffs on eight European nations unless they consent to a U.S. acquisition of Greenland. This surprising announcement was shared on his Truth Social platform on Saturday morning.
Trump has targeted the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland, threatening a 10 percent tariff on all goods exported to the United States starting February 1. This move aims to pressure the countries into facilitating the purchase of Greenland from Denmark.
The former president stated that the tariffs would remain in place until a deal is reached. If negotiations fail to yield results by June 1, the tariffs are set to escalate to 25 percent.
Trump justified his call for Denmark to relinquish the mineral-rich territory by suggesting that global peace depended on such a transaction.
He asserted, “Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can engage in this endeavor and do so very successfully!”
‘Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!
‘Nobody will touch this sacred piece of Land, especially since the National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake.’
Trump said that the eight countries would face tariffs due to them sending troops to Greenland in the last few days.
Trump posted an AI image of himself to his Truth Social on Saturday, labelling himself ‘the tariff king’
Danish F-35 fighter jets and a French MRTT tanker conducted air-to-air refueling training over southeast Greenland, video from Danish Defense showed on Friday
Nations including France, Germany and Sweden have deployed a small number of troops to the territory in response to Trumps rhetoric in the last few days.
That mission, named Operation Arctic Endurance, was stepped up on Friday with Danish F-35 fighter jets conducting training over southeast Greenland.
A French MRTT tanker also conducted air-to-air refueling after departing its base in southern France, where it returned after completing the training.
Prior to his announcement, Trump shared an image of himself leaning over The Resolute Desk to his Truth Social page which he labelled, ‘The Tariff King’. He has frequently called himself the king, often sharing AI generated images of himself with a crown.
Trump threatened to slap tariffs on, ‘countries that don’t go along with Greenland’ on Friday and added that the US may back out of NATO if the acquisition wasn’t agreed.
Trump claims his fixation with acquiring the territory is a matter of US national security.
He said: ‘We need Greenland for national security very badly. If we don’t have it we have a very big hole in terms of national security, especially in terms of the Golden Dome.’
The Golden Dome is a proposed multi-layer missile defense system which the president says is reliant on seizing control of Denmark’s Arctic territory.
The White House shared an AI-generated image of Trump as the king last year on its official Instagram page. The president frequently refers to himself as such
L-R: Aaja Chemnitz, Senator Chris Coons and Christian Friis Bach at Christiansborg on January 16, 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark
A bipartisan congressional delegation arrived for talks in Copenhagen on Friday, aimed at shoring up support for America’s NATO ally.
The 11 congressmen and women held talks with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Senator Dick Durbin said: ‘We are showing bipartisan solidarity with the people of this country and with Greenland. They’ve been our friends and allies for decades.
‘We want them to know we appreciate that very much. And the statements being made by the president do not reflect what the American people feel.’
In addition to Durbin, the delegation included Democratic senators Chris Coons, Jeanne Shaheen and Peter Welch, as well as Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis.
Democrats from the House of Representatives in the delegation are Madeleine Dean, Steny Hoyer, Sara Jacobs, Sarah McBride and Gregory Meeks.
The visit follows a meeting in Washington on Wednesday at which Danish representatives said they are in ‘fundamental disagreement’ with Trump.
Trump claims the United States needs mineral-rich Greenland and has criticized Denmark for allegedly not doing enough to ensure its security.
The president has pursued that argument, despite strategically located Greenland being covered by NATO’s security umbrella since it is part of Denmark.
The European troop deployment in Greenland for a military exercise is aimed at ‘sending a signal’ to ‘everyone’, including the US, that European countries are determined to ‘defend (their) sovereignty’, French armed forces minister Alice Rufo said.
‘A first team of French service members is already on site and will be reinforced in the coming days with land, air and maritime assets,’ French president Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
