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greenland
Danish Official Says No Breakthrough in Talks With US as Trump Intent on 'Conquering' Greenland
"We didn't manage to change the American position."
Jan 14, 2026
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday indicated that they had not dissuaded President Donald Trump and his administration from trying to illegally seize their territory.
Shortly after a meeting at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenlander Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt indicated that little had changed after the two parties spoke for less than two hours about the self-governing Danish territory.
"We didn't manage to change the American position," Rasmussen told reporters. "It's clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland."
He then said that Denmark wants to "work with our American friends and allies," but warned that "it must be respectful cooperation."
Danish Foreign Minister Rasmussen:
“We didn't manage to change the administration position. It's clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland."
pic.twitter.com/omrHSwzNkR
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 14, 2026
Motzfeldt, meanwhile, said that she and her Danish counterpart used the meeting with Vance and Rubio to show "where our limits are," while also expressing a "hope for mutual understanding" between the two parties in any future talks.
Q: What did Trump's team say when you told them that you can't just take over a nation? Did they appreciate that perspective?
GREENLAND FOREIGN MINISTER: I don't want to say what we discussed in the closed meeting room, but I'd like to have hope for more mutual understanding pic.twitter.com/thNP5LK5bH
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 14, 2026
While taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump was asked directly if he would respect the limits set out by Greenland, and he indicated that he would not.
"Well, we're gonna see what happens with Greenland," the president said. "We need Greenland for national security... If we don't go in, Russia is gonna go in and China is gonna go in. And there's not a thing that Denmark can do about it. But we can do everything about it. We're going to see what happens, but we need it."
Q: Are Greenland's limits going to be respected?
TRUMP: Well, we're gonna see what happens with Greenland. We need Greenland for national security. If we don't go in Russia is gonna go in and China is gonna go in. And there's not a thing that Denmark can do about it. But we can… pic.twitter.com/cH7yQypMYj
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 14, 2026
In fact, since Greenland is part of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO), the US would be obligated to defend it in the event that Russia or China launched an invasion.
As Trump has refused to back down from his threats to invade the territory of a longtime US ally, other European countries have started announcing troop deployments to Greenland to act as a potential deterrent.
In a social media post, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson revealed that "several officers from the Swedish Armed Forces are arriving in Greenland today" at Denmark's request to take part in an exercise dubbed Operation Arctic Endurance.
According to Le Monde, both France and Germany, two of the largest military powers in Europe, have also agreed to send troops to Greenland at Denmark's request. Canada and the Netherlands also pledged to send forces to help carry out the training exercise, Newsweek reported.
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Just 4% of Americans Support Trump Seizing Greenland by Military Force
“Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States," said the territory's prime minister. "Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
Jan 14, 2026
A survey released Wednesday shows that just 4% of US voters think it would be a "good idea" for President Donald Trump to seize Greenland by military force, data that came ahead of a closely watched White House meeting between Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark.
More broadly, according to the new Reuters/Ipsos poll, only 17% of Americans approve of Trump's push for the US to acquire Greenland by any means.
The White House has said it is considering a "range of options" to seize Denmark, from buying the mineral-rich island to acquiring it through military force. Just one in 10 Republican voters and virtually no Democrats said they believe it's a good idea for the Trump administration to forcibly take Greenland, which is currently an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Greenland residents have overwhelmingly voiced opposition to US control.
In an early morning Truth Social post ahead of Wednesday's White House meeting, Trump declared that the US "needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security"—a view that military experts have rejected.
"It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building," Trump added, referring to his proposed missile defense boondoggle. "NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!"
Trump's latest Greenland rant came a day after the territory's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said during a press conference that "we are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark."
"One thing must be clear to everyone,” said Nielsen. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
Wednesday's White House meeting was scheduled at the request of Danish and Greenlandic officials, who said they are seeking to head off a potential disaster spurred by Trump's increasingly belligerent rhetoric.
In the face of Trump's threats, Denmark has reportedly begun mobilizing military equipment and advanced troops to Greenland.
"Our reason for seeking the meeting we have now been given was to move this whole discussion into a meeting room where we can look each other in the eye and talk about these things," Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark's foreign minister, said Tuesday.
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EU Leader Warns of 'End of NATO' as Trump Ramps Up Threats to Take Over Greenland
"Among people it will be also very, very negative," said EU defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius.
Jan 12, 2026
The European Union's defense commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, said Monday that Europe must build up its military capabilities as President Donald Trump threatens to rip up the central agreement that's underpinned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for more than 75 years with his escalating demand that the US should be able to take control of Greenland—a semiautonomous territory of NATO founding member Denmark.
Kubilius said he agreed with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's recent assessment that a US takeover of Greenland, home to about 56,000 people, "will be the end of NATO."
"But also among people it will be also very, very negative," Kubilius told Reuters at a security conference in Sweden.
Trump first expressed a desire to take control of Greenland during his first term. The vast island is in a geopolitically strategic location as countries begin to use the Arctic Ocean for shipping routes, and has stores of rare earth minerals.
The president has intensified his threats against the territory following his invasion of Venezuela and the US military's abduction of President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, with White House officials saying Trump has the right to take control of any country he wants to in order to control their resources.
On Air Force One on Sunday, Trump told reporters that he has not yet proposed a deal to Denmark and said "Greenland should make the deal." He added that he does not care whether a takeover of Greenland "affects NATO."
"They need us more than we need them," said the president.
“If it affects NATO, it affects NATO. They need us more than we need them.”
Trump says Greenland should take a deal he admits he hasn’t offered, makes it clear he does not care if attacking Greenland ends NATO.
Again: ending NATO is a Putin goal. That is no coincidence. pic.twitter.com/9jTfHedgFJ
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) January 12, 2026
Trump also said in the Oval Office Sunday that owning Greenland is “psychologically important for me.”
"Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document, that you can have a base," said Trump.
The US already owns a military base in Greenland, but Trump has claimed military presence in the territory is not enough to fend off what he claims are imminent threats from China and Russia.
Kubilius said that should NATO fall apart due to a US operation aimed at taking Greenland by force from its longtime ally, "it will be a very big challenge to be ready to defend Europe, being independent, being without the United States."
"The question would be how we can use in that case NATO structures, how they can be, you know, become a basis for European pillar of NATO," he said. "But NATO such as it is now definitely will not exist anymore."
Greenland's govermment on Monday issued a statement reiterating its previous warnings that it is "part of the kingdom of Denmark."
“As part of the Danish Commonwealth, Greenland is a member of NATO and the defense of Greenland must therefore be [done] through NATO," reads the statement.
Considering that six NATO member states in Europe have expressed firm opposition to Trump's plan, the government said, "Greenland will increase its efforts to ensure that the defense of Greenland takes place under the auspices of NATO."
"The government coalition in Greenland will therefore work with Denmark to ensure that the dialogue on and development of the defense in Greenland takes place within the framework of NATO cooperation," officials added.
In addition to the NATO agreement, Kublius said, Article 42.7 of the European Union Treaty obligates member states to come to Denmark's defense if Greenland is attacked.
"It will depend very much on Denmark, how they will react, what will be their position, but definitely there is such an obligation of member states to come for mutual assistance if another member state is facing military aggression," he said.
On NBC's "Meet the Press," US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Sunday also expressed concern that a military attack on Greenland would mean the US was at war "with Europe, with England, with France."
Chris Murphy: "Let's talk about what's at stake here. The president is spending every single day thinking about invading Greenland, managing the Venezuelan economy, building a ballroom. He's not thinking about the American people at all." pic.twitter.com/LVorATNTuZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 11, 2026
"An attempt to 'annex' Greenland would be the functional end of NATO," said Murphy. "And final evidence that Trump is permanently distracted by things that have nothing to do with the American people—like Venezuela, his new White House ballroom, and now Greenland."
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