Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters as he attends a meeting with oil industry executives at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., January 9, 2026.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Friday his administration would take action Greenland “whether they like it or not”, escalating his rhetoric even further as he strives to acquire the Danish territory for the United States
“I’d like to come to an agreement, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’ll do it the hard way,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
The comments came during a meeting with oil executives to discuss the possibility of doing business in the country. Venezuela. Less than a week earlier, the US military had invaded the oil-rich South American country and captured its leader, Nicolas Maduro.
Trump has long sought to seize Greenland, primarily citing the Arctic island’s importance to U.S. national security.
Denmark and its European allies in NATO – the military alliance co-founded by the United States – hit back, reiterating that Greenland is not for sale. But the Trump administration nevertheless says it is currently evaluating a series of options regarding Greenland, including the use of American military or make a deal to buy it in Denmark.
Government officials also considered sending lump sums of cash to Greenlanders as an incentive to join the United States. Reuters reported Thursday.
Asked Friday about the amount of these payments, Trump replied: “I’m not talking about money for Greenland yet.”
“I could talk about it, but for now, we’re going to do something in Greenland whether they like it or not,” Trump said.
“Because if we don’t, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we won’t have Russia or China as neighbors,” he said.
Trump said that while he was a “big fan” of Denmark, “just because they owned a boat there 500 years ago doesn’t mean they own it. [I’m] of course we also sent a lot of boats there.
“So we’re going to do something with Greenland, either in the nicest way or in the hardest way,” he said.
The American army already has a base in Greenland, and it would have has the possibility of expanding its presence there if desired.
But that’s not enough, Trump said.
“When we own it, we defend it. We don’t defend leases in the same way, we have to own it,” he said.
