U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his intentions to acquire Greenland for the U.S. in an interview with NBC News on March 29.
"We'll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%," Trump said.
The comments come a day after U.S. Vice President JD Vance made a controversial visit to Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. In remarks to servicemembers at an American military base, Vance criticized Danish stewardship of the Arctic island and suggested Greenland would be safer under the U.S.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Vance's remarks were "not accurate."
Speaking to NBC News on March 29, Trump said a U.S. military takeover of Greenland was not off the table.
There is a "good possibility that we could do it without military force," Trump said, but added that "I don't take anything off the table."
When asked what message the annexation of Greenland would send to Russia, which has been illegally occupying Ukrainian lands since 2014, Trump said that was not a concern.
"I don't really think about that. I don't really care. Greenland's a very separate subject, very different. It's international peace. It's international security and strength," he said.
"You have ships sailing outside Greenland from Russia, from China and from many other places. And we're not going to allow things to happen that are going to be — that are going to hurt the world or the United States."
Trump also on March 29 announced that the U.S. would purchase icebreaker vessels from Finland, following an unofficial visit with Finnish President Alexander Stubb at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
The icebreakers are critical to Trump's plans to expand U.S. influence in the Arctic region.
Greenland is home to both Danish and U.S. military bases as well as vast reserves of mineral wealth. Denmark, a NATO member state and traditional U.S. ally, has pledged to increase defense spending in the Arctic in response to threats from Russia and Trump's worrying rhetoric.
"(I)t is true that security in the Arctic must be given higher priority," Frederiksen wrote on social media following Vance's visit to Greenland.
"That is why Denmark is now strengthening our efforts. With more surveillance, new Arctic ships, long-range drones and satellite capacity. ... Greenland is part of NATO, which is why NATO needs to significantly increase its presence in the Arctic."
Denmark is ready to cooperate with the U.S., Frederiksen said, adding that their cooperation "must be based on the necessary international rules of the game."
In the weeks leading up to his second presidential inauguration, Trump publicly floated the idea of a U.S. takeover of Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal. In comments to reporters on Jan. 7, he refused to rule out the possibility of using military force to seize Greenland, which he said the U.S. needs for "economic security."
Trump's expansionist ambitions and disregard for state sovereignty carry alarming implications, particularly for Ukraine as it fights to restore its territorial integrity amid Russia's ongoing invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 27 said that Trump was serious about his plans to acquire Greenland for the U.S. and alleged that the plan had "historical roots." Previously, the Kremlin said it was monitoring developments regarding Trump and Greenland due to Russia's own "strategic interests" in the Arctic region.
Alex Cadier
(Updated: )
