The United States will buy Greenland, Trump Said – the Danish government has announced a significant increase in defense spending for Greenland, following statements by Donald Trump reiterating the U.S. interest in purchasing the territory.
“For the sake of national security and freedom worldwide, the United States of America considers owning and controlling Greenland an absolute necessity,” Trump stated on Truth Social. In the same post, he announced the nomination of billionaire Ken Howery, a former associate of Elon Musk, as ambassador to Copenhagen.
Denmark Responds to Trump’s Remarks: Investments in Greenland
Denmark wasted no time in responding. The government announced plans to substantially boost Greenland’s defense budget. “Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stated that the package amounts to a ‘double-digit billion’ figure in Danish kroner, equivalent to at least $1.5 billion (or £1.2 billion),” reported the BBC. Danish media estimate the total to be between 12 and 15 billion kroner.
The new defense package will fund the purchase of two new inspection ships, two long-range drones, and two additional dog sled teams. It also includes plans to expand staffing at the Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, and modernize one of the island’s three main civilian airports to handle supersonic F-35 fighter jets.
“For many years, we have underinvested in the Arctic. Now, we plan to strengthen our presence,” said Poulsen.
Greenland’s Dependency on Danish Subsidies
Steen Kjaergaard of the Danish Defense Academy suggested that Trump’s comments were aimed at pressuring Denmark to consider selling the territory.
“This likely stems from Trump’s renewed focus on the need for air and sea control around Greenland, coupled with internal developments on the island, where some voices have expressed a willingness to align more closely with the United States – especially following the inauguration of a new international airport in Nuuk,” Kjaergaard told the BBC.
“I think Trump is being clever… He has prompted Denmark to prioritize its military capabilities in the Arctic simply by raising the issue, without needing to take on Greenland’s entirely un-American welfare system,” he added, referencing Greenland’s heavy reliance on subsidies from Copenhagen.
The United States will buy Greenland – Trump’s Proposal Previously Seen as a Joke
During his first term, Trump had already said The United States will buy Greenland and proposed buying Greenland, an idea rejected outright by Danish and Greenlandic authorities. The suggestion was widely dismissed as a joke, although “The Wall Street Journal” reported that Trump revisited the idea multiple times “with varying degrees of seriousness.”
Greenland is home to the U.S. Thule Air Base, which was renamed a Space Force Base in 2023. According to the Associated Press, Trump was not the first U.S. president to propose buying the world’s largest island. A similar offer was made by President Harry Truman in 1945.
