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US ‘HAS NO RIGHT’ TO TAKE OVER GREENLAND, DANISH PM SAYS AFTER
RENEWED TRUMP THREATS  
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Deborah Cole
January 4, 2026
The Guardian
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_ Mette Frederiksen responds to president amid febrile atmosphere
after US actions in Venezuela _

Mette Frederiksen said it made ‘absolutely no sense’ for the US
to be talking about needing a part of the Danish kingdom., Nicolas
Tucat/AFP/Getty Images

 

Denmark’s prime minister has urged Donald Trump to stop threatening
to take over Greenland [[link removed]]
after the president said the US “absolutely” needs the territory.

Mette Frederiksen said on Sunday: “It makes absolutely no sense to
talk about the US needing to take over Greenland. The US has no right
to annex any of the three countries in the Danish kingdom.”

The US bombardment of Venezuela and the capture of its president,
Nicolás Maduro, has renewed fears of an American takeover of
Greenland, as members of Trump’s Maga movement gleefully set their
sights on the Danish territory after the attack in South America.

Just hours after the US military operation in Venezuela
[[link removed]],
the rightwing podcaster Katie Miller
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– the wife of Stephen Miller, Donald Trump’s powerful deputy chief
of staff for policy – posted on X
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Greenland draped in the stars and stripes with the caption:
“SOON.”

Trump himself told the Atlantic
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magazine on Sunday: “We do need Greenland, absolutely.”

Miller’s threat to annex the mineral-rich territory, which is part
of the Nato alliance, drew outrage from Denmark
[[link removed]] and Greenland.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik 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 wrote on X.

But he also said: “There is neither reason for panic nor for
concern. Our country is not for sale, and our future is not decided by
social media posts.”

Copenhagen’s ambassador to the US, Jesper Møller Sørensen,
reposted Miller’s provocation with a “friendly reminder
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longstanding defence ties between the two countries.

“We are close allies and should continue to work together as such.
US security is also Greenland’s and Denmark’s security,” he
said. “The Kingdom of Denmark and the United States work together to
ensure security in the Arctic.”

He said Denmark had increased defence spending in 2025, committing
$13.7bn (£10.2bn) “that can be used in the Arctic and North
Atlantic. Because we take our joint security seriously.”

 
He added: “And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial
integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.”

Trump recently named Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana, as a
special envoy to Greenland. Landry, a former state attorney general,
thanked Trump for his appointment in December, saying it was “an
honour to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a
part of the US”.

On Saturday, Landry welcomed Trump’s toppling of Maduro by force.
“Having served as a sheriff’s deputy and AG, I have seen the
devastating effects of illegal drugs on American families. With over
100k opioid-related deaths annually, I am grateful to see a President
finally take real action in the war on drugs,” he posted on X.

“Thank you @realDonaldTrump for holding individuals like Maduro
accountable.”

Since taking office a year ago, Trump has rattled European allies with
his stated designs on Greenland, which is seen as strategically
important for defence and as a future source of mineral wealth. It is
home to the US’s most northerly military base
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at Pituffik, which Trump’s vice-president, JD Vance, visited in
March
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The US president has refused to rule out military action
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to gain control of the territory at a time when the US, China and
Russia are jockeying for power in the Arctic, a prospect that has
triggered widespread condemnation and disquiet on the island itself.

“I don’t rule it out. I don’t say I’m going to do it but I
don’t rule out anything. No, not there. We need Greenland very
badly,” Trump told the US broadcaster NBC in May when asked about a
potential takeover by force.

“Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we’ll take care
of, and we’ll cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for
international security.”

In response to a constant drumbeat of threats against the territory,
the Danish defence intelligence service last month labelled the US a
security risk
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in a dramatic change in transatlantic relations.

The prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland, Mette Frederiksen and
Nielsen, said at the time
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“We have said it very clearly before. Now we say it again. National
borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law
… You cannot annex other countries.”

The vast majority of Greenland’s 57,000 inhabitants want to become
independent from Denmark but have no wish to become part of the US,
according to a poll in January
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The territory has had the right to declare independence since 2009.

Jennifer Kavanagh, the director of military analysis at Defense
Priorities, a thinktank that advocates restraint in US foreign policy
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long dismissed Trump’s sabre-rattling toward Greenland.

“Now I’m not so sure,” she said. “It wouldn’t be that hard
for the US to put a couple hundred or a couple thousand troops inside
of Greenland, and it’s not clear to me who could do anything about
it.”

_Agence France-Presse contributed to this report._

_DEBORAH COLE is a Berlin correspondent for the Guardian_

_Covering American and international news for an online, global
audience. GUARDIAN US is renowned for the __Paradise Papers_
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* Donald Trump
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* Denmark
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* Greenland
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* territorial integrity
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* Arctic
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* Stephen Miller
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* Venezuela
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