Greenland’s government has firmly rejected President Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to gain control of the island, a notion that has been supported by some members of his administration for national security purposes.
“We have no desire to become Americans or Danes; we are proud Greenlanders,” declared Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen alongside leaders from four political parties in a statement released Friday night, as reported by The Associated Press. Although Greenland is a self-governing territory under Danish sovereignty and has long-standing ties with the U.S., the island has consistently dismissed Trump’s suggestions of a U.S. acquisition.
The political leaders of Greenland reaffirmed their stance, emphasizing that the fate of their territory should be determined by its own people.
“As leaders of Greenland’s political parties, we stress again our desire for the United States to end its disregard for our nation,” the statement continued.
The Trump administration’s interest in acquiring Greenland has been met with clear resistance from the island’s officials.
During a recent roundtable discussion with oil industry leaders, President Trump addressed the topic, reiterating his belief that Greenland holds strategic importance for U.S. security. He argued that securing the territory was crucial to preempt any advantage by rival nations.
“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” Trump said Friday. “Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”
Trump hosted nearly two dozen oil executives at the White House on Friday to discuss investments in Venezuela after the historic capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.
“We don’t want to have Russia there,” Trump said of Venezuela on Friday when asked if the nation appears to be an ally to the U.S. “We don’t want to have China there. And, by the way, we don’t want Russia or China going to Greenland, which, if we don’t take Greenland, you can have Russia or China as your next-door neighbor. That’s not going to happen.”
Trump said the U.S. is in control of Venezuela after the capture and extradition of Maduro.
Nielsen has previously rejected comparisons between Greenland and Venezuela, saying that his island was looking to improve its relations with the U.S., according to Reuters.
A “Make America Go Away” baseball cap, distributed for free by Danish artist Jens Martin Skibsted, is arranged in Sisimiut, Greenland, on March 30, 2025. (Juliette Pavy/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump’s threats to annex Greenland could mean the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“I also want to make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops. Including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2.
That same day, Nielsen said in a statement posted on Facebook that Greenland was “not an object of superpower rhetoric.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stands next to Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during a visit to the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen on April 28, 2025. (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)
White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller doubled down on Trump’s remarks, telling CNN in an interview on Monday that Greenland “should be part of the United States.”
CNN anchor Jake Tapper pressed Miller about whether the Trump administration could rule out military action against the Arctic island.
“The United States is the power of NATO. For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the United States,” he said.
