A new security arrangement announced by President Donald Trump with Denmark and Greenland is designed to prevent US rivals from building military bases or making strategic investments on the Arctic island. One security analyst said the agreement could significantly curb China’s and Russia’s ambitions in the region.
Appearing on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” retired US Marine Col. Grant Newsham, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, likened the move to the United States’ purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.
Newsham said the deal would strengthen a crucial part of North America’s defensive perimeter while making it harder for Moscow and Beijing to establish a foothold in Greenland.
“This is a big deal. This is right up there with Secretary of State Seward getting Alaska,” Newsham said Saturday.
Although the United States is not acquiring Greenland, Newsham said the agreement effectively brings strategically important territory into Washington’s security orbit. He argued that Russia and China would be prevented from gaining either a military or economic presence on the island.
Trump announced the agreement Friday in a post on Truth Social, claiming it would give the United States permanent responsibility for Greenland’s security.
“I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many US concerns,” Trump wrote.
Trump also said the arrangement would not cost the United States money and would ensure that Washington could take whatever steps it considered necessary to protect Greenland and US national security.
Officials in Denmark and Greenland have stressed that the agreement must still be formally signed and pass through parliamentary procedures. They also said it would maintain Greenland’s and Denmark’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Newsham presented the announcement as part of what he views as a wider Trump administration effort to reinforce US homeland defense and challenge foreign influence in strategically important locations.
“Look at how the Chinese have been rolled back in Panama. And look what President Trump has done with Venezuela. You can see that there’s a plan here for defending our homeland,” Newsham said, describing the Greenland arrangement as a major step in that strategy.
He said the agreement would give Washington greater latitude to prevent adversaries from operating in Greenland, while predicting that both China and Russia would publicly object to the deal.
“They’ll complain. They won’t like it, but there’s not much they can do about it,” Newsham said. He added that the two countries could increase activity in other parts of the Arctic, but maintained that the agreement would represent a substantial gain for US strategic interests.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth separately pointed to plans for expanding the American military presence in Greenland. He reposted Trump’s statement that the United States would promptly begin identifying suitable locations for a larger military deployment on the island.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also welcomed the agreement on X, calling it a historic victory for the United States and saying it would secure American interests in the Arctic without imposing costs on US taxpayers.
Rubio said the deal would keep Greenland within North America’s strategic defense zone and prevent adversaries from gaining access to the island or nearby areas. He added that the agreement fully addresses Washington’s national security concerns in Greenland.
