The art of being awkward: Donald Trump and the quest for Greenland

Unwelcome presidential overtures

In the last 18 months, President Donald Trump has returned time and time again to a subject he first raised in 2019, during his first term of office. In 2019, he articulated an interest in purchasing Greenland and approached the then Danish Prime Minister about it. He was rebuffed and in retaliation cancelled a state visit to Copenhagen. Both the elected governments of Greenland and Denmark were clear that the presidential overture was unwelcomed. While Denmark is formally responsible for foreign policy and security of Greenland, the 57,000 strong community in Greenland was adamant that they did not wish to be part of an American territorial purchase.

President Biden won the election in 2020, assumed office in January 2021 and did not pursue this matter. President Trump’s victory in November 2024, however, provided a fresh opportunity to resurrect the matter. By December 2024, President elect Trump was posting on Truth Social that Greenland needed to be acquired by the United States as part of a hemispheric security strategy that linked Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal and later Venezuela. Dubbed the Trump Corollary, it purposefully builds on 19th century visions of US hegemonic power (Monroe Doctrine) in the Americas and assumes that islands such as Greenland should fall under the domain of a “Greater America”.

Renewed efforts in the second term of office

Since formally assuming office again in January 2025, Trump has used social media memes and formal speeches including the State of the Union address to pursue this quest to acquire the world’s largest island. He has been relentless and tactless, with little to no concern about Danish and Greenlandic sensibilities. Greenland is an integral part of the Danish Kingdom, and he has at times spoken about annexing the island rather than purchasing it. European allies have been sufficiently concerned that they have dispatched military personnel and senior officials to express solidarity with Denmark. The EU President is visiting Greenland this month to sign a joint declaration on an enhanced partnership with the European Commission. All of which has been heightened by Trump’s persistent and unwanted overtures.

What has been noticeable about Trump’s quest for Greenland is how the rationale for the acquisition itself is explained and justified in a haphazard manner. At least five factors have been invoked by the president and senior members of his administration.

Spheres of influence and domination

The first is hemispheric security and the 2025 National Security Strategy mimics something that President Putin would be sympathetic to which is great powers enjoying their distinct spheres of influence and domination. Under this worldview, the US would then seek to expand and dominate neighbours including Greenland, Canada, and others including oil-rich Venezuela, which has effectively become a US protectorate following the overthrow of the Maduro government.

Second, President Trump has argued that China and Russia represent a clear and present danger to Greenland and that to secure America’s homeland security it must take control of Greenland. One fear that is voiced is that the US needs to enhance its ability to detect and destroy adversaries who might fire projectiles at the country.

Critical minerals, essential elements

Third, Greenland’s resource value including critical minerals is cited by President Trump because he remains concerned about China’s supply chain dominance in this area. Critical minerals are essential elements in an array of energy infrastructures as well as military-related products and equipment. While Greenland’s mining sector is in its infancy, the island is thought by some to be a future resource hotspot.

Fourth, President Trump’s animus towards Denmark mirrors his wider unhappiness with European NATO partners for not spending enough on defence. He has been openly mocking of Denmark’s defence capabilities and unimpressed with recent investment and changes to military conscription, which now for the first time includes women on 11-month deployments.

Finally, Trump is known to be a map aficionado and fond of renaming places such as Gulf of America and Lake America and there may be some truth to the idea that acquiring Greenland would seal his fate as a president who made the US greater and bigger. Greenland is three times the size of Texas, and Mercator maps exaggerate further the size of the island.

Unsubtle geopolitics

For now, Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but President Trump remains convinced about the necessity for the US to acquire it. His approach to geopolitics is not subtle. America’s military, financial and political power is to be used as a blunt force. His presidential style is direct and unsubtle. He has no qualms about making his political allies feel awkward in face-to-face encounters. And he will not worry in the slightest about alienating a Danish Prime Minister as well as a British Prime Minister. He has shown what he is prepared to do – use targeted tariffs, offer direct payments to Greenlandic residents to induce support for a US takeover, offer a compact of free association (where the US would become the guarantor power instead of Denmark), berate Denmark repeatedly and publicly for neglecting Greenlandic defence and security, and fail to support European partners when it comes to confronting the threat posed by Russia. The nuclear option, as far as Denmark is concerned, is a military option which is forcefully acquiring Greenlandic territory in the name of US national security.

Negotiations are ongoing with the US, Denmark and Greenland about a possible deal which has been encouraged by the NATO Security General, Mark Rutte. If concluded in the autumn of 2026, it would witness more open-ended US military access rather than a full transfer of sovereignty to Washington DC. All of which will frustrate Danes because an earlier 1951 defence agreement between the two countries gives the US plenty of latitude to operate in Greenland already.

The royal connection

But that might not be sufficient for a president who appears hell-bent on acquisition. In the meantime, Princess Isabella is starting her conscription service and is likely to be sent to Greenland along with other new recruits. The youngest member of the Danish Royal Family might, in the end, offer the best defence Denmark has – given Trump’s admiration and fascination with royal families.

About the author

Klaus Dodds is Professor of Geopolitics and Faculty Dean for Science and Technology.