GREENLAND – President Trump is moving ahead with a deal to gain more access to Greenland. He announced that he’s dropping his plan for new tariffs because he has agreed a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security with the head of NATO, but the details are still being worked out.
The news comes after the president’s comments in recent days sparked concerns among some Danish veterans who previously fought alongside American forces.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump doubled down on his Greenland ambitions, claiming Denmark has failed to adequately defend the territory. The concern centers around the island’s vast natural resources that could be targeted in the future by Russia and China.
“In 2019, Denmark said that they would spend over $200 million to strengthen Greenland’s defenses,” Trump said. “But as you know, they spent less than 1% of that amount. One percent. There’s no sign of Denmark there. And I say that with great respect for Denmark, whose people I love, whose leaders are very good. It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant, massive land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it and make it so that it’s good for Europe and safe for Europe and good for us.”
The president announced he wants to negotiate a deal to acquire Greenland.
He said, “And that’s the reason I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States, just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history, as many of the European nations have. They’ve acquired this. Nothing wrong with it.”
He insisted his plans would strengthen NATO. “But this would not be a threat to NATO. This would greatly enhance the security of the entire alliance, the NATO alliance,” the president said.
Beneath all this snow and ice, there are billions or maybe trillions of dollars’ worth of natural gas and rare earth minerals. But most of the people who live here in Greenland would rather it just stay there. They just don’t want to spoil all this beauty in order to make more money.
For Danish veterans who served alongside American troops, Trump’s words ring hollow. Denmark lost 44 soldiers in Afghanistan and eight in Iraq.
Danish citizen Martin Tamm Andersen said, “I have good friends that were wounded, I have good friends and colleagues that were killed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. So Danes have put down their lives to fight together with the U.S. for freedom and democracy, and I’m sure the Danes would do that again in the future. So it doesn’t make any sense to say that Denmark is not good allies. I mean, we are the best and strongest allies that the U.S. has ever had.”
Colonel Søren Knudsen served two tours in Afghanistan. When Vice President Vance called Denmark “a bad ally,” he removed his U.S. Bronze Star from display.
Knudsen said, “I was very proud of getting it, I was very proud of having it alongside all my other medals, obviously. But I also have to say that when JD Vance, one evening, it was broadcast here that he called us a bad ally, I took this one off. I said, I’m not going to show them because that’s not what I want to advertise.”
The U.S. already maintains a military presence in Greenland under a 1951 defense agreement. And local veterans add that sovereignty is not negotiable.
“America was a lighthouse; it was the thing we were looking at when discussing democracy,” Knudsen said. “America, as anyone else, has made mistakes throughout, but it was until very recently the beam in the darkness. And regrettably, that light is being closed, switched off as we speak.”
