Trump Says Greenland ‘Should Be Controlled by the U.S.’ as He Criticizes NATO Alliance at Summit

“Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, but it’s an important part for the United States, and it’s surrounded by China ships and Russian ships,” he argued.

“They [Denmark] wouldn’t go along with it, and with all the money ⁠we ​spend to help them with Russia, and we don’t have to spend any money. We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe,” he continued. “Because as you’ve probably noticed, Europe’s a very different place than it was 20 years ago.”

Greenland’s positioning between the U.S., Russia, and Europe makes it a strong geopolitical asset, and Trump has long argued that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the island from Russian and Chinese interests.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who has previously denounced Trump’s reasoning, reiterated her stance at the summit later in the day.

“It is a well known position of the United States that it wants to own and take over Greenland. I ​hope that it is equally well known everywhere that this is not going to happen,” she said, according to Reuters.