"During Trump's second term, those offers have turned to threats. Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social in late December 2024 that, for purposes of national security, U.S. control over Greenland was a necessity. The president has continued to insist on the national security rationale into January 2026. And he has refused to rule out the use of military force to control Greenland."
"From my perspective as an international relations scholar focused on Europe, Trump's national security rationale doesn't make sense. Greenland, like the U.S., is a member of NATO, which provides a collective defense pact, meaning member nations will respond to an attack on any alliance member. And because of a 1951 defense agreement between the U.S. and Denmark, the U.S. can already build military installations in Greenland to protect the region."
President Trump has framed U.S. control of Greenland as a national security necessity and has publicly refused to rule out military action. The 2025 National Security Strategy emphasizes control of the Western Hemisphere and preventing Chinese influence in the region. Greenland is a NATO member and benefits from collective defense commitments, and a 1951 U.S.-Denmark defense agreement already permits U.S. military installations on the island. The United States has a historical record of attempts to acquire Greenland, including a commissioned survey in 1867 and a proposed complex diplomatic trade in 1910 involving Denmark and other states.
Read at Fortune
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