PoliticsJAN 5, 2026
Trump Issues Greenland Deadline As PM Fires Back: “That’s Enough Now!”
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Soon after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his focus on Greenland—and the Danish administration is not having it.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump suggested the U.S. could take action on Greenland in the near future.
“We’ll worry about Greenland in about two months,” he said. “Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
Highlights
- President Trump suggested potential U.S. action on Greenland, citing national security and the strategic importance of the island.
- Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Frederiksen Nielsen firmly rejected U.S. annexation ideas, calling such talk 'enough now.'
- Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called Trump's suggestions 'absurd' and stressed the U.S. has no legal claim on Greenland.
- European countries, including France and Germany, support Denmark, affirming Greenland's sovereignty and international law.
Greenland’s prime minister snapped at Trump after he suggested taking action on Greenland
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
Trump said the island is vital to U.S. security. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” he said.
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, which is a NATO ally of the U.S. The world’s biggest island hosts the U.S. Pituffik Space Base, a key site for detecting long-range missiles bound for the U.S.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen sharply rejected Trump’s remarks.
“That’s enough now,” Nielsen said in a public statement on Facebook. “No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation.”
“We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law,” Nielsen added.
The legality of the U.S. abducting Maduro and his wife has come under the spotlight at the UN, and the 15-member UN Security Council was set to meet on Monday.
Image credits: Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/Getty Images
Russia and China, among other Venezuelan allies, have accused the U.S. of violating international law.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also dismissed Trump’s comments. “I have to say this very clearly to the United States: it is absolutely absurd to say that the United States should take control of Greenland,” she said.
Frederiksen added that Washington has no legal claim to the territory. “The U.S. has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom,” she said.
Trump repeated his claim that Denmark cannot guarantee Greenland’s security. “Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said, without offering details.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed Trump’s comments as ‘absurd’
Image credits: Kirsty Wigglesworth/Getty Images
Tensions increased after Katie Miller, the wife of senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, posted an image of Greenland colored with the U.S. flag and captioned it “Soon.”
Nielsen called the post disrespectful. “Relations between nations and peoples are built on mutual respect and international law—not on symbolic gestures that disregard our status and our rights,” he said.
Denmark’s ambassador to the U.S. Jesper Moeller Soerensen also commented on Miller’s post, offering what he called a “friendly reminder.”
He said Denmark has “significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts” and worked together with the U.S. on that. “We are close allies and should continue to work together as such,” Soerensen wrote.
European leaders quickly came to stand by Denmark.
France expressed its “solidarity” with Denmark. French foreign ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux told television channel TF1, “Borders cannot be changed by force. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the Danes, and it is up to them to decide what to do with it.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed Denmark in June 2025, saying, “The principle of the inviolability of borders is enshrined in international law and is not up for negotiation.”
Image credits: Ricardo Ramirez/Getty Images
Trump first proposed buying Greenland in 2019. Back then, Frederiksen had clearly called the idea “an absurd discussion,” iterating that “Greenland is not for sale.” She made it clear to Trump that she had “no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland.”
Vice President JD Vance visited Pituffik Space Base in Greenland in March 2025. The trip had already created controversy after it was scaled back following criticism from Copenhagen, accusing the itinerary of creating “unacceptable pressure” and an “escalation.”
Image credits: Jim Watson/Getty Images
Vance told service members at the base, “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass.”
Vance accused Denmark of failing to keep up with military spending, leaving the U.S. with “no option” but to take a significant position to ensure Greenland’s security.
Frederiksen previously told Trump that Greenland is not for sale
Image credits: Leon Neal/Getty Images
During his conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump also signaled that the U.S. could launch military action in Colombia, before mentioning Cuba and Mexico. He told reporters Mexico must get its act together and that Cuba was “ready to fall.”