President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to annex Greenland has suffered a double blow, with the Danish territory’s prime minister telling Fox News “we don’t want to be American,” while a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found 53 percent of Americans oppose the plans.
Speaking from his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort on January 7, Trump refused to rule out using force to take control of Greenland, leading French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to say the European Union would respond if its “sovereign borders” are attacked.
Newsweek contacted Greenland’s government and Trump’s presidential transition team for comment on Friday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
In a December 22 post on his Truth Social website Trump said that “for purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World” if was an “absolute necessity” that the U.S. takes over the “ownership and control” of Greenland.
An aircraft carrying Donald Trump Jr. in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 7, 2025. Trump’s plan to buy Greenland has suffered a double blow. An aircraft carrying Donald Trump Jr. in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 7, 2025. Trump’s plan to buy Greenland has suffered a double blow. Emil Stach / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP/GETTY
The latest double setback for Trump’s plans come as the dispute threatens to turn into an open diplomatic row between the U.S. and NATO ally Denmark once the Republican is inaugurated as president for the second time on January 20. Trump reportedly discussed the issue during a 45-minute phone call with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday.
What to Know
Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has previously called for the territory to become independent from Denmark, said: “We will always be a part of NATO, we will always be a strong partner for [the] US, we are close neighbors. We have been cooperating for the last 80 years and I think [in] the future have a lot to offer to cooperate with, but we want also to be clear, we don’t want to be Americans. We don’t want to be a part of U.S., but we want a strong cooperation together with U.S.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister tells Fox:
We don’t want to be Americans. We don’t want to be a part of U.S. But we want a strong cooperation together with U.S. pic.twitter.com/VpdCQGOwub
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 16, 2025
A clip of his remarks was posted on X by the Acyn account, which shares prominent U.S. politics-related content, where it received over 80,000 views.
Separately a poll of 1,000 Americans, conducted by USA TODAY and Suffolk University between January 7 and 11, found 53 percent were actively opposed to the U.S. taking control over Greenland.
Another 29 percent thought it was a good idea, but that it wouldn’t happen realistically, while just 11 percent said the incoming Trump administration should make establishing U.S. control over Greenland a priority.
What People Are Saying
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said: “I don’t want to get into any dispute with the incoming President Trump. He has a certain specific way to formulate requests, and what we are doing right now is getting into a more detailed dialogue with the incoming president.”
On January 10, Egede told reporters: “Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic.”
On X, former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger wrote: “To the government of Denmark: the best thing you can do re: Greenland threats, is to not express fear but anger instead. ‘Keep threatening and we will deny you access to Greenland.’ Trump, like Putin, understands threats and will back down.
What Happens Next
If Trump continues demanding the U.S. be allowed to purchase Greenland from Denmark following his inauguration the row risks causing an open rift between America and a prominent European ally, and within the Western alliance more generally.
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