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Denmark’s leaders are trying their hand at “soft-power diplomacy” as they host a US delegation in Copenhagen, Danish journalist Trine Villemann told FRANCE 24. Eleven US lawmakers are visiting the city on Friday to express support for Denmark and Greenland, emphasising that President Donald Trump’s designs on the Arctic island do not have the backing of the American people.
The delegation’s visit follows a meeting in Washington on Wednesday at which Danish representatives said Copenhagen and Washington were in “fundamental disagreement” over the future of Greenland.
In Greenland’s capital Nuuk, residents welcomed the show of support.
“(US) Congress would never approve of a military action in Greenland. It’s just one idiot speaking,” a 39-year-old union representative told AFP.
“If he does it, he’ll get impeached or kicked out. If people in Congress want to save their own democracy, they have to step up,” said the union rep, speaking on condition of anonymity.
NUUK, Greenland — U.S. President Donald Trump has turned the Arctic island of Greenland into a geopolitical hotspot with his demands to own it and suggestions that the U.S. could take it by force.
The island is a semiautonomous region of Denmark, and Denmark’s foreign minister said Wednesday after a meeting at the White House that a “fundamental disagreement” remains with Trump over the island.
The crisis is dominating the lives of Greenlanders and “people are not sleeping, children are afraid, and it just fills everything these days. And we can’t really understand it,” Naaja Nathanielsen, a Greenlandic minister said at a meeting with lawmakers in Britain’s Parliament this week.
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.
British officials went to bed on Monday thinking they had averted a crisis. They woke up in the middle of an even deeper row over Greenland, tiny specks of rock in the Indian Ocean, and whether they should deploy their ultimate Trump card: King Charles.
Once again, President Donald Trump had upended everything with an early-hours Truth Social post.
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.
While the Canadians have reportedly been weighing whether or not to send additional troops to aid in the “defense” of Greenland, they just got wrecked by the U.S. in their national pass time.
USA SHUTS OUT CANADA TO WIN GOLD AT THE WOMENS WORLD JUNIORS 🥇 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/mHV65UPXV0
— Game Notes (@GameNotesBud) January 19, 2026
The only time I am a hockey fan is whenever the United States beats Canada at literally the only thing they are good at 🇺🇸 https://t.co/ar78ZpfAzk
— Whale Psychiatrist ™️ (@k_ovfefe2) January 19, 2026
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.”
Turning to the Greenland crisis, EC president Ursula von der Leyen declares that “tariffs are a mistake, particularly between long-term allies”.
She reminds Davos that the US and Europe reached a trade deal last year.
In a nod to President Trump, as he jets towards Davos, von der Leyen says:
In politics as in business, a deal is a deal.
And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.
Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for industry, raw materials, mining, energy, law enforcement and equality, addresses MPs at a meeting in the Inter-Parliamentary Union room in the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, England, organized by the All-Party Parliamentary Groups for Greenland following U.S. threats to take over the territory.
Macron says European Union ”should not hesitate” to use anti-coercion mechanism in face of Greenland tariff threats, reports AP. Devdiscourse
from news.google.com
FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron has launched a veiled attack on Donald Trump and said that we are now shifting to a world “without rules”.
The European leader blasted his US counterpart’s tariff threats – saying they “don’t make sense” and calling them an attempt to “subordinate” the continent.
Donning a pair of aviator shades at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, Macron took several hidden jabs at Trump in the face of the Greenland row.
As sea temperatures and geopolitical tensions simultaneously heat up, Greenland’s strategic importance increases. Against this backdrop, the specter of American territorial expansion has emerged as a new factor that is complicating Arctic security.
The evolving security environment in the Arctic necessitates deeper American involvement in the region. Specifically, the United States needs to enhance its military presence in Greenland by improving regional air and missile defenses. Future developments could call for other actions, such as reopening closed bases and deploying more troops to Greenland.
The Trump administration is poised for crunch talks with Greenlandic and Danish officials on Wednesday, amid the U.S. president’s ongoing push to take control of Greenland.
Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and her Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, are expected to convene at the White House for talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his aggressive rhetoric shortly before the high-stakes meeting. In a social media post on Wednesday, the U.S. president said anything less than Greenland becoming a part of the United States would be “unacceptable.”
France sends 15 soldiers, Germany 13. Norway, Sweden also participating to bolster security on Arctic island.
Soldiers from France, Germany and other European countries have begun arriving in Greenland to help boost the Arctic island’s security after talks involving Denmark, Greenland and the United States highlighted “fundamental disagreement” between President Donald Trump’s administration and its European allies.
France has already sent 15 soldiers and Germany 13. Norway and Sweden are also participating.
Representatives from the Danish government and Greenland met with senior officials from the Trump administration to discuss the future of Greenland.
It comes amid President Donald Trump’s renewed push for U.S. control of the Arctic territory.
The meeting took place on Wednesday at the White House in Washington, D.C., and lasted approximately one hour.
Representing the United States were Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who hosted the discussions.
According to CBS News, the United States and Denmark still have “fundamental” disagreements over Greenland’s future, but discussions will continue following a White House meeting this week. Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, described the talks as “frank but constructive,” focused on Greenland’s long-term security. The meeting included Greenland’s foreign minister, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and senior U.S. officials—underscoring the seriousness with which Washington is treating the issue.
🚨 JUST IN: Denmark and Greenland officials have ARRIVED at the White House to meet with JD Vance and Sec. Marco Rubio
Time to acquire Greenland!
NATO has another thing coming if they think Trump is going to surrender Greenland to China and Russia.pic.twitter.com/y3Ze2GYfmO https://t.co/3H78B93JTb
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 14, 2026
ON GREENLAND: ‘A FUNDAMENTAL DISAGREEMENT’: To put it succinctly, the Danes just don’t get it. They are ready, willing, and able to accommodate whatever President Donald Trump wants to do to bulk up defenses on their strategic Arctic island of Greenland, short of handing it over or selling it to the United States.
“The U.S. has already a wide military access to Greenland. Under the 1951 defense agreement, the U.S. can always ask for increasing its presence in Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said after meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House on Wednesday. “We would examine any such request constructively.” Rasmussen called the talks “frank, but also constructive,” but added, “Our perspectives continue to differ, I must say.”
The saga of President Donald Trump’s quest for Greenland continues with a new chapter.
Over the last few days, I noted that Trump has stressed that a more robust relationship with Greenland is a national security issue. Then, both Greenland and Denmark asked to fast-track a meeting with our very busy Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
It now appears Rubio is scheduled to meet with Danish officials next week.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he plans to meet with Danish officials next week after the Trump administration doubled down on its intention to take over Greenland, the strategic Arctic island that is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Since the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump has revived his argument that the United States needs to control the world’s largest island to ensure its own security in the face of rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic.
GOP Rep. Don Bacon (R) joined House Democrats to introduce legislation seeking to preemptively block President Trump from using military force to acquire Greenland — a prospect the president has declined to rule out amid renewed interest in the Danish territory. The “No Funds for NATO Invasion Act,” introduced Monday, would prohibit the use of…
from thehill.com
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Tuesday that the Arctic island chooses Denmark over the U.S., pushing back against Donald Trump‘s repeated takeover threats.
“If we have to choose between the USA and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark and the EU,” Nielsen said, according to translated comments reported by Danish public broadcaster DR.
He was speaking alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at a news conference in Copenhagen, ahead of crunch talks between U.S., Danish and Greenlandic officials at the White House on Wednesday.
“The time has come to stand together,” Nielsen added.
“It has not been easy to stand up to completely unacceptable pressure from our closest allies for a lifetime. But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us,” Frederiksen said.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Greenland is “vital” for the Golden Dome missile defense system, reiterating arguments that U.S. possession of Denmark’s territory is critical for national security.
The president also urged NATO to support Greenland’s acquisition on the basis that it will boost the alliance’s defense capabilities against Russia and China. His statement came just hours ahead of a meeting Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are holding at the White House with Denmark and Greenland’s top diplomats.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social.
The Danish government has reportedly deployed military “reinforcements” to Greenland ahead of a high-stakes White House meeting to discuss the future of the territory on Wednesday.
According to a report from public broadcaster Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), the Kingdom of Denmark is sending military equipment and advance troops to Greenland in preparation for a larger deployment of Danish forces to the island.
However, the broadcaster questioned how large a deployment Copenhagen will be able to manage in Greenland, given that many of its forces, particularly soldiers in the Danish Army, have already been committed to other theatres, such as in the Baltic. No hard numbers have been placed on the redeployment yet.
President Trump isn’t playing around when it comes to the United States taking control of Greenland, and he just sent a warning shot to the island’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, that Nielsen’s continued resistance is “going to be a big problem for him.”
The president made the remark Tuesday after being questioned about Nielsen’s loud proclamation this week that he chooses Denmark over the U.S. Here’s Trump’s full response to that: “Well, that’s their problem. That’s their problem. I disagree with him. I don’t know who he is. Don’t know anything about him, but that’s going to be a big problem for him.”
Prime Minister Nielsen has been doing a lot of jawing this week, ahead of Wednesday’s meeting at the White House between Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and delegations from Denmark and Greenland. (Greenland is an an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.)
President Donald Trump wants Greenland, stressing again that Greenland is a national security issue.
The president wrote on Truth Social:
The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term, and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, NATO would not be an effective force or deterrent – Not even close! They know that, and so do I. NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES.
Anything less than that is unacceptable. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 14, 2026
Britain ‘stepping up on Arctic security’ amid Trump Greenland threats The Independent
from news.google.com
The US could face a bill as high as £520billion ($700bn) if Donald Trump’s rumoured plan to buy Greenland came into fruition, sources have claimed. Scholars and former US officials came up with the estimate while planning around Trump’s interest in buying the 800,000‑square‑mile island as a strategic Arctic buffer, reports NBC news.
Their calculation suggests the idea would cost more than half of the US Defense Department’s yearly budget. Trump’s past comments about taking Greenland and his order of a US raid to capture Venezuela’s president and his wife have caused concern in Europe and in Congress.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that the United States intends to pursue the purchase of Greenland, reinforcing President Donald Trump’s position that control of the Arctic territory is a national security priority.
Rubio’s comments to Congress come as the administration continues to antagonize European allies on Greenland’s strategic value, while stopping short of committing to military action. The White House has said that all options remain available to the president but stressed that the current focus is on a financial transaction, according to an exclusive from the Wall Street Journal.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States,” the White House said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”
Danish soldiers will be required to shoot first and ask questions later if the United States invades Greenland, under the army’s rules of engagement. On Wednesday, the Danish defence ministry confirmed the existence of a 1952 rule requiring soldiers to “immediately” counter-attack invading forces without awaiting orders.
The defence ministry also said that the rule “remains in force” when asked about its status by Berlingske, a centre-Right Danish newspaper. This week, Donald Trump, the US president, repeated his intention to annex the Nato territory of Greenland, which he views as essential to US national security, including by military force if necessary.
His remarks have shocked Denmark, which rules Greenland as an overseas territory and insists the island is “not for sale” as well as Greenland’s government and the wider Nato alliance. According to the Danish newspaper Berlingske, the 1952 rule states that in the event of an invasion, “the attacked forces must immediately take up the fight without waiting for or seeking orders, even if the commanders in question are not aware of the declaration of war or state of war”.
Is the United States about to invade Greenland?
If you listen to EU politicians and much of the U.S. legacy media, and actually take them seriously, then you might answer “yes.” President Donald Trump is going to unleash Delta Force to spirit away the prime minister before we nuke Nuuk (the capital of Greenland) and send in the Army to mop up survivors.
If you’ve followed this issue from the beginning and have tried to accurately understand how the president operates, then you should conclude that this brouhaha is all about negotiating. You also may think that the U.S. is just pursuing a long-term policy more vigorously, and that our allies in Europe really need to chill.
The issue of Greenland suddenly popped back up in the news recently, and I kid you not, because White House adviser Stephen Miller’s wife posted this on X.
This sent the European elite straight to their oft-used fainting couches, which they had to stay firmly emplaced on when Trump himself weighed in and said he still aims to acquire Greenland. This has been his goal since 2019 and has been, off and on, a U.S. strategic aim since the 19th century.
When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if Trump meant to use the military to acquire Greenland, she said that “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option.”