FEATURE: Why Donald Trump Wants Greenland

In January 2026, President Donald Trump transformed a once-dismissed 2019 idea of buying Greenland into a high-stakes international crisis. He demands “complete and total control” of the vast Arctic island, currently an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Threats of steep tariffs on Denmark and multiple European allies including Norway, Sweden, France, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland; refusals to rule out military force, and cryptic warnings like “you’ll find out” and “something’s going to happen” have rattled NATO, triggered market plunges and led to protests in Greenland and Copenhagen. European leaders condemn it as “new colonialism,” while some former Trump advisers predict “Greenland will stay Greenland.”

Trump frames the push as an “absolute necessity” for the U.S. national security, legacy-building, and economic strength. Yet the obsession revives a 150-year-old American interest in the island, amplified by 21st-century realities

Greenland’s Location and Proximity to the United States

Greenland is the world’s largest island, spanning 2.166 million square kilometres, larger than Mexico but with only ~56,000 inhabitants, mostly Inuit along the southwest coast. It lies in the far North Atlantic and Arctic.

Geographically, it is part of North America and borders Canada to the northwest of Iceland. It controls key access between the Arctic Ocean to its north and the North Atlantic to its south/east.

The shortest border-to-border distance to the United States is ~1,973 km. Still, practical proximity to the contiguous U.S. mainland is 2,000–2,500 km across the Atlantic, which is farther than New York to London.

Greenland is much closer to Canada, Iceland, and parts of Europe like Norway than to most U.S. territory.

Why Denmark Controls Greenland

The Danish ties to this place started a long time ago in the early 18th century. A time before that, around 985 AD, the Norse Vikings came and settled in some parts, but those colonies disappeared by the 15th century.

In 1721, a Norwegian missionary named Hans Egede went back to this place and started things up again. He set up trade posts. Helped convert the Inuit populations to his beliefs while Denmark was in charge of all the trade that happened, having a trade monopoly on the Danish ties and the Danish trade. The Danish ties are still important today because of what Hans Egede did for the ties.

After the 1814 Treaty of Kiel during the post-Napoleonic Wars, Denmark retained Greenland and the Faroe Islands, while Norway went to Sweden. Greenland remained a Danish colony until 1953, when it was integrated into the Danish realm.

Home Rule in 1979 and the Self-Government Act of 2009 granted broad autonomy over internal affairs such as education, health, and resources. Denmark is still in charge of foreign policy and defence and the currency, which is the Danish krone. Greenland receives substantial subsidies and could pursue independence via referendum.

The United States recognised sovereignty in 1916. This was because the United States was buying the Danish West Indies from Denmark. The Danish West Indies are now called the United States Virgin Islands. The United States also got some rights to have bases in Denmark because of a defence agreement in 1951. This agreement happened after World War II.

Historical U.S. Interest in Acquiring Greenland

The United States has a history of growing by buying land instead of taking it by force. For example, the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 made the country twice as big for $15 million, from France.

Then, in 1819, the United States bought Florida from Spain.

The United States also bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, which is a famous purchase. The United States made these purchases to expand its territory.

Between 1867 and 1868, the United States Secretary of State William H. Seward started looking into buying Greenland and Iceland. He thought it would be a good idea to spend about 5.5 million dollars on these places. He also thought it would give the United States influence over Canada and help with commerce. Congress did not like this idea. They were still getting backlash from people about the Alaska purchase, so they said no to buying Greenland and Iceland.

In 1910, Ambassador Maurice Francis Egan floated proposals amid European diplomacy. The proposal didn’t fly.

Again, in 1946, U.S. President Harry Truman offered $100 million in gold (~$1.6 billion today) as a “military necessity” for Cold War defence.

During Trump’s first tenure in 2019, he called it a “large real estate deal,” but Denmark dismissed it as “absurd,” prompting a cancelled state visit.

Strategic and Military Imperatives

Donald Trump thinks Greenland is really important to stop Russia and China from doing what they want in the Arctic. There’s a U.S. Space Force base is Greenland called the Pituffik Space Base. This base is very important to the United States because it serves as a key early-warning site for missiles and satellites. They also want to build a defence system called the Golden Dome.

Donald Trump does not like the way things are now because Greenland belongs to Denmark. He says that Russian and Chinese ships are everywhere in the area. He believes that if the United States were in charge of Greenland, it would stop Russia and China from taking over.

The Arctic is getting warmer. That means ships can now travel through areas that were previously closed off. Trump ties it to broader Western Hemisphere security, arguing that outsourcing defence risks hot conflict.

The Rare Earth Minerals and Resource Bonanza

Greenland holds immense untapped critical minerals, especially rare earth elements (REEs), vital for EVs, wind turbines, electronics, AI, quantum computing, and defence.

The United States Geological Survey ranks Greenland eighth in the world. It has one and a half million metric tons of reserves, and some estimates suggest up to 36 million tonnes of total resources.

Key deposits such as Kvanefjeld, one of the world’s largest, high-heavy REEs but stalled by the 2021 uranium ban; and Tanbreez, potentially the world’s largest by volume, U.S.-linked Critical Metals advancing with possible Ex-Im Bank financing, can be found on the island.

Other resources include lithium, cobalt, graphite, uranium, oil/gas, etc. China dominates ~60–70% production/processing.

Trump downplays this publicly, but his circle sees it as breaking Chinese leverage. Some analysts suggest threats aim to secure offtake deals or exclude China rather than full ownership.

Greenland has not produced any rare earths so far. This is because of problems like the very harsh environment. There are also gaps in the infrastructure. The rules and politics are also an issue. Then there is the question of whether it is worth spending money on this project.