Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen Hits Back At Trump’s Greenland Threats

“I have to say this very directly to the United States: It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland,” Frederiksen wrote in a statement on a Danish government website on Sunday. “The United States has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Commonwealth.”

Trump recently reiterated his interest in the semi-autonomous Danish territory in an Atlantic article that was published Sunday, while Katie Miller, the wife of one of his top aides, shared a social media post on the subject on Saturday.

“We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense,” Trump told The Atlantic.

Speaking to reporters later on Air Force One, Trump said the country needs “Greenland from a national security situation.”

“It’s so strategic right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he said.

“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it, that I can tell you.” Then he insults Denmark: “To boost up security in Greenland. They added one more dog sled.”

Miller, meanwhile, posted a message featuring a map of Greenland covered with an American flag and accompanied by the word “SOON.”

Trump’s statements about taking over Greenland are under new scrutiny, given the United States’ military operation in Venezuela on Saturday. Last spring, Trump also declined to rule out the use of military force as part of potential U.S. efforts to acquire Greenland.

Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen have repeatedly denounced the prospect of a U.S. takeover of the island, and a January 2025 poll similarly found that 85% of Greenland’s residents opposed it.

In Frederiksen’s statement, she noted that the Kingdom of Denmark was a member of NATO, like the U.S., and privy to its security guarantee. Additionally, she emphasized that the U.S. already possessed “wide access” to Greenland via a defense agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark.

“I would therefore strongly urge that the United States stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have said very clearly that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen wrote.