Denmark Tells Trump to Halt Greenland Annexation Rhetoric Amid Rising Security Fears

Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, has warned former US President Donald Trump to stop making statements about taking control of Greenland, saying the United States has no right to annex any part of the Danish kingdom.

Frederiksen’s remarks followed Trump’s renewed insistence on Sunday that Washington needs Greenland for defence purposes, comments that have unsettled officials in Copenhagen amid broader concerns about US military ambitions.

“I need to say this very directly to the US: the United States has no right to annex any of the three countries of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Frederiksen said in a statement.

She stressed that Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory within Denmark, is part of NATO and therefore protected by the alliance’s collective defence clause. Frederiksen also noted that a long-standing defence agreement already grants the US extensive access to Greenland.

Trump has repeatedly argued that American control of Greenland is vital to national security. Speaking to The Atlantic on Sunday, he said, “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.” He later told reporters that Russian and Chinese vessels were operating in the region, claiming Denmark lacked the capacity to secure it.

Tensions were further heightened by the recent detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which has amplified fears in Denmark that the US could seek to expand its military reach.

The controversy deepened after a post on X by Katie Miller, wife of Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, showed Greenland coloured like the US flag with the caption “SOON.”

Reacting to the post, Greenland’s Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen described the image as “disrespectful” but urged calm. “There is no reason for panic,” he said on Facebook, adding that Greenland is a democratic society with self-rule, free elections and institutions grounded in international law and recognised agreements.

Source: Bloomberg