Why does Trump want Greenland?

The Danish government has suggested bolstering its military presence on Greenland by increasing its dog-sled patrols on the Arctic island after Donald Trump suggested he wanted to buy it.

On Tuesday, Trump said he wants to make Greenland a part of the US – renewing an interest he first expressed in 2019 when he offered to buy Greenland from Denmark, which was summarily rejected.

In an extraordinary moment at a press conference, Trump also refused to rule out using military or economic coercion to annex Greenland. "No, I can't assure you on either of those two," Trump said. "But I can say this, we need them for economic security."

His comments prompted the Danish government to propose purchasing two new Arctic inspection vessels and increasing dog sled patrols to boost its military presence in Greenland.

The tradition of using sled dogs for patrolling Greenland dates back to World War II, with the patrol being a specialized unit of the Royal Danish Navy.

The government also proposed upgrading the airport in Kangerlussuaq, a former US military base in western Greenland, to accommodate F-35 fighter jets, broadcasters DR and TV2 said on Friday.

Denmark has already set aside $400 million to strengthen surveillance and intelligence in the Arctic and North Atlantic with long-range drones.

Following Trump's comments on Greenland, UK foreign secretary David Lammy said: “We know from Donald Trump’s first term that the intensity of his rhetoric and the unpredictability sometimes of what he said can be destabilising.

"I suspect on Greenland what he’s targeting is his concerns about Russia and China in the Arctic, is his concerns about national economic security."The EU was swift in countering Trump's comments. "The principle of inviolability of borders applies to every country, regardless of whether it is to the east or west of us," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a hastily arranged press conference on Wednesday, adding Russia had violated that principle with its war in Ukraine.

French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot also insisted the EU would not let other nations attack its sovereign borders.

“There is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are… We are a strong continent," he said.

Why does Trump want Greenland?

Trump is all too aware that Greenland holds immense strategic value for the US, particularly in the context of military operations and its ballistic missile early-warning system.

He wrote on Truth Social: “For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

The island’s location means it sits along the shortest and most direct route from Europe to North America through the Arctic region. This positioning gives it significant military and intelligence advantages, especially for monitoring transatlantic activities and maintaining a defensive posture against potential threats.

The US has long recognised the importance of Greenland for its defence capabilities, maintaining a permanent military presence at the Pituffik air base in the island’s far north-west. The base serves as a hub for the US Space Surveillance Network and provides an essential early-warning radar system, crucial for detecting incoming ballistic missile threats from Europe or the Arctic.

If the US is able to place advanced radar systems to monitor the waters between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK, they would better be able to monitor the waters – which are vital maritime corridors for Russian naval vessels and nuclear submarines.

If the US did own Greenland, it would ensure that countries like Russia or China could not establish a significant military presence in the Arctic region. But as Greenland via Denmark is part of Nato it is unlikely they would be able to establish the base anyway.

Beyond its military significance, Greenland possesses vast untapped natural resources, including oil, gas, and rare earth minerals, which are of growing importance in the global energy and technology markets.

Trump has signalled that the US may impose high trade tariffs on Denmark in an effort to convince them to sell Greenland.

On Wednesday, Trump's pick for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, backed up his comments.

"You have Russia that is trying to become king of the Arctic, with 60-plus ice breakers, some of them nuclear power," he said. "We have two, and one just caught on fire. "This is about critical minerals. This is about natural resources. This is about, as the polar ice caps pullback, the Chinese are now cranking out ice breakers and pushing up there as well. So it's oil and gas. It's our national security."

What do Greenlanders want?

Recent years have seen a growing independence movement in Greenland, with polling suggesting a majority of residents support independence. However, opinion on the timing and potential impact on living standards is split.

Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953 but is now a self-governing territory of Denmark and in 2009 achieved the right to claim independence through a vote. In 2023, Greenland's government presented its first draft constitution.

Greenlandic politicians have said repeatedly since 2019 that they are interested in strengthening cooperation and trade with the US – but there is little support for Trump’s proposals.

Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, said the idea of a US takeover should be firmly rejected. She wrote: “I don't want to be a pawn in Trump's hot dreams of expanding his empire to include our country.”

The island’s prime minister, Mute Egede, also said Greenland is not for sale. In a written comment responding to previous comments from Trump last month, Egede said: “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”

However, Egede does want independence from Denmark and in a New Year’s speech, he said it was “about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future”.

Why does Denmark own Greenland and what has it said?

Greenland has been a part of Denmark since the early 18th century, but the relationship has evolved over time.

Denmark first established a colony on the island in 1721, but when Denmark and Norway separated in 1814, Greenland was transferred to the Danish crown, and was fully integrated in the Danish state in 1953 under the Constitution of Denmark, which made the people in Greenland citizens of Denmark.

In 1979, Greenland was granted home rule, allowing it to control many of its domestic affairs, and it achieved full self-governance in 2009. However, Denmark still maintains control over foreign policy, defence, and finance.

Earlier this week, Denmark's foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he looked forward to informing Trump about Denmark's "massive" military build-up since his last term as president.

However, defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen acknowledged on Thursday that necessary military investments had been "neglected for many years."

The Danish government has repeatedly stated that Greenland’s independence is a choice for its people. But the country’s former prime minister Lars Rasmussen said in 2019 that “we will continue to support the island in its current self-governance structure”.

In what was seen as a public rebuke to Trump, the Danish king changed the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature Greenland. King Frederick signalled that Denmark will not let Greenland go by updating the Danish coat of arms to include a prominent polar bear to symbolise Greenland, removing the three crowns that represent Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has also previously labelled Trump's offer as “absurd” and, responding to Trump’s most recent comments, added: “There is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either.”

Lokke Rasmussen added that the US's concerns over security were legitimate but ruled out Greenland becoming part of its territory.

"We fully recognise that Greenland has its own ambitions. If they materialise, Greenland will become independent, though hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States," Rasmussen said.

"I don't think that we're in a foreign policy crisis.

"We are open to a dialogue with the Americans on how we can possibly cooperate even more closely than we do to ensure that the American ambitions are fulfilled."

When did this all start?

The idea of the US buying Greenland is not a new one – in fact, the history of interest dates back to just after the Second World War. In 1946, the US offered Denmark $100 million in gold to purchase the island. However, Denmark rejected the offer, and Greenland’s status remained unchanged.

In 2019, then-president Donald Trump revived the idea of buying Greenland. During a meeting with his advisors, Trump reportedly described the acquisition as “a large real estate deal” and emphasised its strategic importance, calling it a “great place for a military base”.

Trump also said: “Denmark essentially owns Greenland. We are very good friends with Denmark. I don’t think they’d be willing to sell it, but we’ll see.”

After Denmark’s then-prime minister Frederiksen rejected the idea, Trump responded to the rejection by cancelling a planned state visit to Denmark.

He said at the time: “Denmark is a very good ally, but they’ve been very cold to me.”