Denmark's Prime Minister has issued a sharp rebuke to former U.S. President Donald Trump, urging him to cease threats of taking control of Greenland. The diplomatic warning follows Trump's renewed assertions that the United States needs the vast Arctic territory for national defence.
A Direct Warning from Copenhagen
In a statement released on Sunday, January 5, 2026, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen addressed Trump's comments head-on. "I need to say this very directly to the U.S.," Frederiksen stated. "The U.S. has no right to annex any of the three countries of the Kingdom of Denmark." The three countries refer to Denmark proper, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.
The Prime Minister's firm response was triggered by Trump's interview with The Atlantic on the same day, where he argued that U.S. control of Greenland was a defence necessity. "We do need Greenland, absolutely," Trump said. "We need it for defence." Later, speaking to reporters, he claimed, "Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland, from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it, I can tell you."
NATO and Existing Agreements Cited
Frederiksen countered Trump's security argument by emphasizing the existing defence framework. She pointed out that the Danish kingdom, including Greenland, is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and is therefore protected by the alliance's collective defence guarantee.
Furthermore, she highlighted the longstanding 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the U.S., which already grants the American military extensive access to Greenland for operations and infrastructure, including the Thule Air Base. The implication was that unilateral annexation is neither legally justified nor practically necessary for security cooperation.
Context of Alarm and Local Reaction
The Danish government's alarm was reportedly heightened by the Trump administration's recent move to detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which raised concerns in Copenhagen about an expanding and unpredictable U.S. military posture.
The controversy was further fueled by a social media post from Katie Miller, the wife of Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Late on Saturday, she posted an image on X depicting Greenland in the colours of the U.S. flag with the caption "SOON."
Greenland's own Premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, responded on Facebook, calling the image "disrespectful." However, he sought to calm concerns, stating, "there is no reason for panic." He affirmed Greenland's status as a self-governing democratic society with its position firmly anchored in international law and agreements.
This incident is not the first time Trump has expressed interest in Greenland. During his presidency in 2019, he publicly floated the idea of purchasing the territory, an offer Denmark swiftly and firmly rejected as "absurd." The latest remarks signal that the issue remains a point of contention, potentially straining the historically strong alliance between the two nations if such rhetoric continues.
