America First, Greenland Next: Trump Vows to Secure Arctic Territory ‘By Any Means’
In a stark declaration of a new doctrine of American strategic acquisition, President Donald Trump announced that the United States is actively pursuing control of Greenland, stating the move will proceed “whether they like it or not.” During a January 9th meeting with oil executives at the White House, the President framed the potential acquisition as an urgent national security imperative to prevent Russian or Chinese dominance in the Arctic. “If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Trump asserted, directly linking the territory’s fate to great power competition and warning adversarial nations to consider both Greenland and Venezuela as American “red lines.”
The President’s remarks, which included a blunt offer to Denmark to make a deal “the easy way” or face a “more difficult way,” dismiss the territory’s current status as an autonomous part of the Danish Kingdom. Trump justified this aggressive posture by questioning historical sovereignty—”the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land”—and by highlighting the immediate threat of foreign military presence. He described Greenland as currently “covered with Russian and Chinese ships,” arguing that mere military basing rights are insufficient. “When we own it, we defend it,” he stated, underscoring a policy shift from partnership to outright possession to secure the island’s vast resources and pivotal geographic position.
This unilateral approach has sparked immediate and fierce condemnation from European allies, who issued a joint statement affirming that “Greenland belongs to its people” and that Arctic security must be achieved collectively through NATO and respect for sovereignty. Unmoved, Trump retorted that “NATO has got to understand” the gravity of the threat, positioning the potential annexation as a non-negotiable pillar of his “American dominance” foreign policy. Coming on the heels of the military operation in Venezuela, the Greenland declaration signals an administration willing to redraw maps and upend diplomatic norms, treating sovereign territory as a strategic commodity to be acquired in the name of preempting rival powers and securing American interests above all else.
