President Donald Trump declared Sunday that the United States will acquire Greenland and didn’t rule out using military force to make it happen. In a recent interview with NBC News, Trump said he would continue to pursue the acquisition of the Danish territory, despite resistance from Denmark.
Trump confirmed that he has had serious discussions about annexing Greenland, stating, “We’ll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%,” during the interview.
His comments came shortly after U.S. Vice President JD Vance and other Trump administration officials visited a U.S. military base in Greenland. During the visit, Vance criticized Denmark, accusing the country of not providing enough security to protect Greenland from potential threats posed by Russia and China. Vance urged Greenland to break away from Denmark and allow the U.S. to discuss acquiring the territory.
When asked about the possibility of using force, Trump responded that he would not rule it out.
“I never take military force off the table. But I think there’s a good possibility that we could do it without military force,” he explained. Trump added that his goal was to protect international security, saying, “We have an obligation to protect the world. This is world peace, this is international security.”
Despite Denmark’s refusal to consider the U.S. acquisition of Greenland, Trump insisted, saying, “We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland.”
The situation has caused tensions between the U.S. and Denmark, with Danish officials pushing back. Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, responded to Vance’s criticism, saying it was unhelpful and that it was not the right way to speak to allies. He suggested that the U.S. work with Denmark to improve the military presence in Greenland.
Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also criticized the U.S. approach, describing the comments as disrespectful. The people of Greenland have expressed little interest in becoming part of the United States, and Denmark, as a NATO ally, stands firm in its control over the territory.
In addition to the Greenland discussions, Trump also addressed concerns about his national security team. He expressed confidence in his officials following a recent scandal in which National Security Adviser Michael Waltz accidentally included the editor of The Atlantic in a private group chat.
The chat contained details about a planned attack on Houthi militants in Yemen, which occurred before it was publicly known. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive details of the strike in the group chat using Signal, an encrypted messaging app.
Despite the leak, Trump told NBC News on Saturday, “I don’t fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts.”
