DONALD Trump is “aiming to buy” Greenland off of Denmark but has refused to rule out taking the coveted territory by force.
The US president is continuing to pile pressure on Europe as he eyes up the key island which he describes as a “national security priority”.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Monday that the Don was looking to purchase the mineral-rich isle, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The White House said on Tuesday that using the US army is “always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal” – but Rubio has downplayed military action.
He instead suggested that Trump is leaning more towards paying for the Danish land, rather than invading it and risking a Nato implosion.
It comes after Europe banded together to declare Greenland “belongs to its people”, defying Trump after he insisted he was “very serious” about seizing the territory.
ISLE TAKE THAT!
Denmark demands ‘respect’ as Trump’s Greenland envoy vows to annex island
COVERT OPS
Spies find ‘US plan to stir up fury in Greenland’ amid Don plot to seize island
The White House said: “President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region.
“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilising the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal.”
The US could buy Greenland in order to own it, or create a compact of “free association” with the island, according to a senior Washington source.
Despite warnings from European allies, the issue is reportedly “not going away” as the Don continues to double down on his threats.
Top leaders of the EU issued a joint statement in defence of the mineral-rich island on Tuesday, after Trump said he was “very serious” about muscling Greenland away from Danish rule.
France, Germany, Italy, Poland, SpainBritain and Denmark rallied together to support the Danish autonomous territory stating: “It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland”.
The proclamation went on to add that Arctic security remains a “key priority” for Europe and is critical for international and transatlantic security.
An extraordinary meeting of Danish parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee will take place at Christiansborg Palace this evening to discuss the escalating threat of annexation.
It comes after President Donald Trump told NBC News he was “very serious” about a US annexation of the Danish-owned isle, doubling down on the narrative that Washington needed the Arctic island for “national security”.
He said he had “no timeline” for taking action, but maintained he is “very serious” in his intent.
He again refused to rule out the use of force to secure it, the suggestion being that Greenland could be America’s next target after the US military action in Venezuela.
“We’ll worry about Greenland in about two months,” Trump began telling media on Air Force One.
“We need Greenland from a national security situation. It’s so strategic. Right now Greenland has Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he went on to say.
But Nato would not survive an American attack to seize Greenland, Denmark has warned.
The furious Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen gave a chilling response to Trump’s threats.
Four ways Trump could take Greenland
by Harvey Geh
HERE are four ways Donald Trump could take over Greenland:
- Invasion: Trump would have little issue using the world’s strongest military to annex a poorly defended target such as Greenland. Denmark may even surrender before a fight takes place to avoid the risk of a full-blown Nato collapse. But any attack could still fall victim to a string of problems, including extreme weather conditions and long supply lines.
- Coercion: The threat of military intervention itself could be enough to force Copenhagen’s hand and pass over the crucial island. But aside from looming threats, Trump could purchase Greenland directly from the Danes. Previous US administrations have tried this at least three times in the past, with the first instance dating back to 1867.
- Free Association: Washington is reportedly already working on a plan to sign a “compact of free association” with Greenland. This deal would mirror current arrangements the US has with countries like Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. In these relationships, the US military have free rein in these territories in exchange for duty-free trade. But if such a deal were to take place, Greenland would have to cede from Denmark and gain independence first.
- Prolong the status quo: With Denmark and Trump both vying to have their own influence, Greenland could seek benefits from both without actually gaining independence or submitting to the US. If Washington settled for a bolstered military presence and mineral-mining contracts on the island, they could lay off further plans to annex it entirely.
She said an attack on the Nato-protected territory would be the end of “everything”.
“If the US chooses to attack another Nato country militarily, everything stops. Including our Nato, and the security that has been provided since the end of the second world war,” she told Danish television network TV2.
But the White House deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser Stephen Miller argued “nobody’s gonna fight” America over the future of Greenland.
He also demanded to know what the “basis” of Denmark‘s territorial claim was for the mineral-rich island.
He justified the US would seize the strategic, resource-rich isle if it wanted because “the United States is the power of Nato”.
“For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend Nato and Nato interestsobviously, Greenland should be part of the United States, and so that’s a conversation that we’re going to have as a country,” he said.
Previously, military experts and defence analysts believed a US invasion of Greenland was unlikely since the Danish autonomous territory is part of Nato, along with the US.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer slapped down Donald Trump, insisting he “stands” with Denmark.
The British Prime Minister backed PM Frederiksen, saying she was “right” to reject any US claim over the Arctic island.
Asked about her stance, the PM told Sky News: “Well, I stand with her, and she’s right about the future of Greenland.”
Elsewhere, the Prime Minister was asked by the BBC if he agreed with calls from the Danes for the US president to stop proposing American annexation of the island.
“Yes,” Sir Keir replied, adding: “Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark are to decide the future of Greenland, and only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.
“Denmark is a close ally in Europe, it is a Nato ally.”
Nato‘s Article 5 – which has underpinned 80 years of North Atlantic peace – states that an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.
If Trump attacked Greenland it should trigger an armed response from Nato’s 31 other members, including the UK.
PM Frederiksen said The US had no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom, adding that Denmark already has a defence agreement with America,
“I would therefore strongly urge the US to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people, who have very clearly said that they are not for sale,” she said.
Trump’s bombing of Venezuela that led to Maduro’s ouster has raised fears of Washington’s annexation of Greenland.
Just hours after the US military operation in Venezuela, MAGA firebrand Katie Miller – the wife of Donald Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Steven Miller – posted a map of Greenland draped in the American flag.
Sharing the post on X, she wrote: “Soon.”
The threat to take over the Danish autonomous territory coveted by Washington drew widespread outrage from Greenlanders and Danes.
Copenhagen’s ambassador to the US, Jesper Møller Sørensen, reposted Miller’s provocation with a “friendly reminder” of the longstanding defence ties between the two countries.
He wrote: “We are close allies and should continue to work together as such. US security is also Greenland’s and Denmark’s security.
“The Kingdom of Denmark and the United States work together to ensure security in the Arctic.”
The Arctic is increasingly the object of a struggle between international superpowers.
Greenland, located between North America and Europe, is strategic at a time of rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the region as the race for rare earths heats up.
Greenland’s location also puts it on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the US.
Russia and China have both ramped up efforts to take control of the region, and concerns exist that America has been caught off guard.
The US has its Pituffik military base in Greenland, an essential part of Washington‘s missile-defence infrastructure.
Earlier in March, Vice President JD Vance blasted Denmark for not keeping Greenland safe from the looming threats from China and Russia.
Trump’s number two arrived in Greenland with his wife Usha for a controversial visit.
He told Space Force guardians at the base that Greenland’s security is under threat from Russia and China and “we must wake up to that”.
Vance blasted Denmark for failing to keep the strategic Arctic island – which he said was America’s first line of defence – safe in a blistering attack during a heated press conference.
The VP then added that America needs to lead in the Arctic region security and protect its interests.
ISLE TAKE THAT!
DONALD Trump could storm Greenland and claim it within 24 hours in the “world’s shortest war”, analysts have revealed.
If Trump did invade, America’s military might would end the war in a day, politics professor Anthony Glees told The Sun.
Speaking to The Sun, Glees said Trump will be surrounded by “people who think he is great” – and it means he will be able to go ahead with any wild ideas he has.
Glees said: “In other words, we have to take him seriously.
“And if Trump wanted to take Greenland by force, he could do it in 24 hours.”
Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told Politico that “there is no defensive capacity in Greenland”.
And it means it would be “the shortest war in the world”.
The conflict would present an “unchartered” situation after the US entered a pact with Denmark in 1951 to defend Greenland against any attack.
The US has a nuclear base on the island that is constantly manned by troops.
Kristian Søby Kristensen, a military researcher at the University of Copenhagen, said: “Who would the Americans be fighting? Their own military?”
Glees said it was likely that, in the event of a US invasion, “there would be no military response to it because it is unthinkable that any Nato member would attack the US”.
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