President Donald Trump announced a “framework of a future deal” for Arctic security or territory access after meetings with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials hours after claiming its “right, title and ownership.”
Since the beginning of his first term presidency in 2019, Trump demonstrated a desire for the United States to annex Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark.
On Jan. 21, Trump met with Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss the possibility of annexing Greenland. In the same meeting, he retracted threats to impose tariffs on European countries previously set to take effect on Feb. 1 and dismissed using force to acquire Greenland.
In a press interview before this meeting, Trump stated that “we are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not. I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”
After meeting Rutte, Trump claimed to reach a “future deal” and shared a social media post about it on X. Yet, no updates or official agreements were released to the public. In response to Trump, the governments of Greenland and Denmark continue to insist, publicly and privately, that it is not for sale.
Regardless of the United States’ efforts, “Denmark will not want to sell Greenland,” according to Danish historian Rasmus Mariager. He also said, “There is nothing to discuss. The resistance to selling Greenland was ‘the same’ then as now.”
Advanced Placement United States History and Art History teacher Colin Cornforth followed the series of events.
“I believe [Trump] wants [Greenland] for national security issues with Russia and China,” Cornforth said. “As well as potential mineral wealth such as rare earth metals and oil. Denmark is not particularly happy about it.”
The United States has a history of attempting to take Greenland for vital sea lanes and missile defense and its role as a key area for military security for the United States and NATO against Russia and China.
Corthforth explained reactions from other parties.
“I read that, recently, European allies have decided to send troops to Greenland as a show of solidarity,” Cornforth said. “The Canadian Prime Minister also had a speech in Davos, [Switzerland] where he questioned the [United States’] role in the world.”
Danish veteran Gerth Sloth Berthelsen, who served alongside U.S. Soldiers, regards the U.S.’s actions as “very disrespectful.” He said that “feelings of fear, unease and betrayal have been permeating through communities.”
In the Wednesday meeting, “Trump and Rutte agreed to further discussions about updating a 1951 agreement between the United States, Denmark and Greenland that governs the U.S. military’s presence on the island,” according to CNN. Since World War II, the United States maintained military bases in and operated alongside Greenland.
“[The series of events] feels like a lot of the language … similar to ideas of Manifest Destiny [and] imperialism with different justifications of acquiring land,” Cornforth said.
