Denmark Watch

Ever since President Trump announced his interest in a U.S. acquisition of Greenland, leftist media at home and abroad have reacted with a mixture of vicious mockery and hysterical indignation. The media frenzy reached new heights shortly before the Davos WEF meeting this January due to Trump’s strong rhetoric.

This rhetoric is part of Trump’s “art-of-the-deal” tactics as a powerful negotiator. Despite the leftist hysteria, however, the Greenland deal framework that is already underway is a testament to the recognition of the strategic importance of the island both for U.S. and European defense. This is also supported by the bare facts, which anti-American media outlets routinely ignore. It would be helpful to summarize these facts.

The official interest of the United States in acquiring Greenland is nothing new — it goes back over 150 years, when, after the purchase of Alaska in 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward emphasized Greenland’s desirable natural resources and strategic ports. A precedent was provided in 1917, when the United States purchased from Denmark the West Indies and renamed them “U.S. Virgin Islands.”

Donald Trump said the United States will gain “total access” to Greenland under a developing arrangement with NATO allies, declaring that the deal would give Washington sweeping military reach over the strategically vital territory.

The president also said part of America’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system would be built in Greenland.

“Essentially, it’s total access,” Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo on Thursday during an interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “There’s no end, there’s no time limit.”

President Donald Trump has announced that he’s reached a preliminary framework agreement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte regarding Greenland, a development he said will pause a looming round of punitive tariffs on European nations.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the discussions produced a framework for a future deal covering Greenland and the broader Arctic region.

The development prompted the president to cancel tariffs that were set to take effect on February 1.

German troops have quietly packed up and left Greenland, just two days after arriving for a highly publicized NATO exercise meant to signal support for Denmark as President Donald Trump renews pressure over the strategic Arctic island.

The abrupt departure raised eyebrows in Greenland’s capital of Nuuk, where residents watched uniformed German soldiers board a commercial Icelandair flight rather than a military aircraft.

Once onboard, roughly half of the small contingent reportedly took seats in business class.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Friday that he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan Congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital.

Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable.”

During an unrelated event at the White House about rural health care, he recounted Friday how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

Canada is moving to step up its position in the Arctic, announcing plans to open new consulates in Greenland and Anchorage, Alaska, as tensions grow over the strategic region and US President Donald Trump continues floating the idea of taking control of Greenland.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canada will open a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, next month. The move had been in the works before Trump’s latest comments, but it now comes as global attention has become focused on the Arctic, reports Bloomberg. Ottawa also plans to open a consulate in Anchorage, though Anand said there’s no timeline yet for when that will happen.

It was all so different on Monday evening, when Secrets was chatting with sources. Crisis, the Brits believed, had been averted by the rational application of cool heads and a dose of logic.

President Donald Trump on Saturday announced new tariffs on goods from eight European countries as part of an effort to secure U.S. acquisition of Greenland, which is currently a territory of Denmark.

Greenland, the world’s largest island, is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. It holds strategic importance due to its Arctic location, natural resources, and role in missile defense systems.

The U.S. has maintained a military presence there since World War II, including at Thule Air Base. Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland dates back to 2019, but the issue resurfaced in early 2025 with initial threats of tariffs if Denmark did not relinquish control.

Some Republican senators are increasingly voicing opposition to President Trump’s remarks suggesting the United States could take control of Greenland by force, as a bipartisan group of lawmakers prepares to visit Denmark to reassure its leaders that Congress would not support any military action targeting the territory.

As the Hill reported, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) are among several U.S. lawmakers scheduled to travel to Copenhagen on Friday, alongside Democratic colleagues Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Dick Durbin (D-IL), as well as Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), and Sara Jacobs (D-CA). 

Tillis emphasized that he will remind Danish officials that Congress is a coequal branch of government, and said he believes “there [is a] sufficient number of members, whether they speak up or not, that are concerned with this.” Speaking about any use of military force to take Greenland, he stated, “The actual execution of anything that would involve a taking of a sovereign territory that is part of a sovereign nation, I think would be met with pretty substantial opposition in Congress.”