Military ‘always an option’ to achieve Trump’s goal of controlling Greenland, White House says

The White House said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump was discussing options for acquiring Greenland, potentially including the use of the US military, as part of a revival of his ambition to control the strategic island despite European objections.

Trump views the acquisition of Greenland as a U.S. national security priority, necessary to “deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” the White House said in a statement.

“The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy objective and, of course, reliance on the United States military is always an option available to the Commander in Chief,” the White House said.

Greenland has repeatedly stated that it does not want to be part of the United States.

Tillie Martinussen, a former Greenlandic lawmaker, says Trump and his administration’s continued talk of takeover is angering people there.

“There’s a lot of anger here… all over Greenland, not just in the capital, but everywhere,” she told Britain’s Channel 4 News. Tuesday.

The Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also expressed his dissatisfaction under pressure from Washington, while insisting on the need for good relations with the United States

“We are not in a situation where we think there could be a takeover of the country overnight and that is why we insist that we want good cooperation,” he said Monday evening.

Trump undeterred by retaliation

Leaders of great European powers and Canada rallied behind the Arctic territory on Tuesday, saying it belongs to its people.

“The future of Greenland and Denmark is decided solely by the Danish people,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday, alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at the Canadian Embassy in Paris.

Carney also announced that Governor General Mary Simon and Foreign Minister Anita Anand would visit Greenland in February.

Trump also talked a lot about have Canada join the United States as the 51st stateeven though Canadian leaders have always rejected such remarks.

A U.S. military capture of Greenland in Denmark, a longtime ally, would send shockwaves through the NATO alliance and widen the divide between Trump and European leaders.

The strong opposition has not deterred Trump from thinking about ways to make Greenland a U.S. hub in an area of ​​growing interest from Russia and China. Trump’s interest, initially expressed in 2019 during his first term, has been reignited in recent days following the American capture of the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

Emboldened by Maduro’s capture last weekend, Trump expressed his belief that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never again be questioned” and put pressure on Colombia and Cuba.

He also started talking about Greenland again after putting it on the back burner for months.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Trump and his advisers were discussing various ways to acquire Greenland.

These options include the United States purchasing Greenland outright or forming a Free Association Agreement (COFA) with the territory. Such agreements with the United States provide the countries concluding them with financial assistance and defense of their territorial integrity. A COFA deal with Greenland would not meet Trump’s ambition to make the island of 57,000 people part of the United States.

The United States currently has COFA agreements with the Republic of the Marshall IslandsTHE Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.

Diplomacy is ‘first option’, official says

The official did not provide a potential purchase price.

“Diplomacy is always the president’s first option in anything, as well as making deals. He loves deals. So if a good deal can be made to acquire Greenland, that would certainly be his first instinct,” the official said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that the administration’s recent threats against Greenland did not signal an imminent invasion and that the goal was to purchase the island from Denmark during a classified briefing Monday evening for congressional leaders, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Rubio’s comment was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Members of Congress, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, objected to the administration’s comments on Greenland, emphasizing that NATO member Denmark was a staunch U.S. ally.

“When Denmark and Greenland make it clear that Greenland is not for sale, the United States must honor its treaty obligations and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican, called on the Trump administration to stop openly coveting Greenland.

“The way we treat them is really demeaning and has no benefit,” Bacon says. told CNN.

Administration officials say the island is crucial to the United States because of its mineral deposits with important military and high-tech applications. These resources remain untapped due to labor shortages, lack of infrastructure and other challenges.

“It’s not going to go away,” the official said of Trump’s push to acquire Greenland during his remaining three years in office.