Why does Trump want Greenland to be part of the U.S.?

Why does the USA need management of Greenland? President Trump has made it clear that he thinks the U.S. wants full management of the island to make sure the safety of America and its NATO allies, some extent these allies — and Greenland — vehemently disagree on.

Here is why Mr. Trump insists the U.S. wants to regulate the semi-autonomous Danish territory, and why NATO allies and Greenland say the U.S. might obtain its goals with out a takeover.

Greenland’s strategic location

• Greenland is positioned strategically between the U.S., Russia and Europe.
• Local weather change means new delivery routes will open up by means of the Arctic.
• Greenland is the placement of the northernmost U.S. navy base.

Greenland spans about 836,000 sq. miles, a lot of it contained in the Arctic Circle and lined by the Greenland Ice Sheet. It is residence to solely round 60,000 folks.

Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark with its personal elected authorities. 

Its location between the U.S., Russia and Europe makes it strategic for each financial and protection functions — particularly as melting sea ice has opened up new delivery routes by means of the Arctic. 

Greenland can also be the placement of the northernmost U.S. navy base — the Pituffik Area Base, which was established throughout World Battle II. 

Nationwide safety

• President Trump has stated Chinese language and Russian exercise round Greenland is a safety risk to the USA.
• The specter of Chinese language and Russian ships round Greenland is disputed.
• Danish politicians have stated the U.S. might put extra troops or tools on Greenland simply by asking.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed the U.S. wants Greenland for nationwide safety functions.

“It is so strategic proper now,” he informed reporters on Jan. 4, claiming “Greenland is roofed with Russian and Chinese language ships far and wide. … We’d like Greenland from the standpoint of nationwide safety, and Denmark will not be going to have the ability to do it.”

Mikkel Olesen, a Danish international coverage and diplomacy researcher, informed CBS Information earlier this month that there aren’t Russian and Chinese language ships all around the Arctic, however there are Russian planes, and there has traditionally been an absence of situational consciousness within the area.

“That is one thing that the U.S. used to do itself. I imply, all through the Chilly Battle, the U.S. had a line of radar stations throughout Greenland and the U.S. selected to shut down these radar stations as a result of the Chilly Battle ended,” Olesen stated. “Now, that is to not say that Denmark as an ally is not obligated to attempt to assist the U.S. dealing with that drawback, in no way. I am simply saying that the established order earlier than Donald Trump was that the uswas very completely happy about having the ability to simply have a free hand in Greenland to deal with these points.”

The Danish authorities has made it clear that the U.S. is welcome to increase its navy presence in Greenland, and that defending the island from any potential adversaries must be the joint accountability of the NATO alliance.

“Put up warning methods, missile methods, troopers, and many others. Simply by asking, you may,” Danish lawmaker Lars Christian Brask, vice-chair of the Danish Parliament’s Overseas Coverage Committee, informed CBS Information earlier this month. “It isn’t you [the U.S.] working the nation, however you might have the choices, the likelihood, of getting troops, materials … tools in Greenland. You simply must ask.”

Members of the U.S. Congress have brazenly questioned Mr. Trump’s declare of a Russian or Chinese language safety risk to Greenland, together with Senate Intelligence Committee deputy chair Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, who said, “The one nation that’s, frankly, benefiting essentially the most from this chaos are each Russia and China.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford additionally disputed Mr. Trump’s declare of a risk to the island from the U.S. adversaries.  

When requested earlier this month what particularly the USA would achieve by way of nationwide safety by taking management of Greenland, given all that the U.S. is ready to do already, White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated: “Extra management over the Arctic area and guaranteeing that China and Russia and our adversaries can not proceed their aggression on this essential and strategic area. And there can be many different advantages as effectively that, once more, the president and his nationwide safety workforce are at the moment speaking about.”

Management over a brand new, beneficial route for delivery

• Melting sea ice round Greenland has created extra alternative to make use of northern sea passages.
• The Northwest Passage, which comes near Greenland, will not be at the moment viable for all the yr.

Melting sea ice round Greenland has created extra opportunity to use northern sea passages that allow shippers to save lots of time and thousands and thousands of {dollars} in gasoline by taking shorter routes between Europe and Asia that have been lengthy solely satisfactory in hotter months.

There are a pair major routes by means of the Arctic turning into extra viable. The Northern Sea Route, which follows Russia’s lengthy northern border, does not deliver ships too near Greenland, and Russia and China agreed to collectively develop that path and have been making higher use of it in recent times.

A Russian industrial vessel, aided by an icebreaker, first traversed the Northern Sea Route within the winter in February 2021.

The opposite route, referred to as the Northwest Passage, comes near Greenland’s coastal waters and is extra doubtless of concern to the Trump administration. 

Earlier than these two routes began turning into viable through the winter, the one method to transfer items from ports in Russia or the manufacturing powerhouses of East Asia was to go south. However these paths are about 3,000 miles longer, and thus far more costly.

Greenland’s pure sources

• Greenland has reserves of oil, pure gasoline and extremely wanted mineral sources.
• It might be very costly to discover and develop these sources.
• Greenland has lengthy stated it is open for enterprise if American corporations are all for exploring.

These mineral sources, which embody uncommon earth parts, “have solely been calmly explored and developed,” Jose W. Fernandez, the U.S. Division of State’s undersecretary for financial progress, power and the setting, stated at a Minerals Security Partnership occasion in Greenland in November 2024.

Greenland could have important reserves of as much as 31 totally different minerals, together with lithium and graphite, in line with a 2023 report assessing the island’s sources. Each minerals are wanted to supply batteries for electrical autos and a big selection of different applied sciences.

At the moment, lithium manufacturing is dominated by Australia, Chile and China, whereas China produces about 65% of the world’s graphite, the report famous.

Greenland additionally has the potential to supply a big quantity of uncommon earth minerals akin to neodymium, which is used to make the magnets utilized in electrical motors, the 2023 report stated. 

China produces about 70% of uncommon earth parts, and demand for them continues to develop with technological advances and the fast unfold of client gadgets.

There are, nevertheless, important hurdles to mining in Greenland, together with environmental and value points.

The U.S. “can discover, in fact in the event you stay as much as environmental laws, and many others., all of the uncommon earths and minerals that you really want in Greenland on a industrial foundation. There will not be any maintain again on that,” Danish lawmaker Brask informed CBS Information earlier this month.

Olesen, the Danish international coverage researcher, stated these minerals are nonetheless very costly to extract, so it hasn’t to this point made financial sense for personal corporations to go after them.

“The place of the Greenland authorities has been for a very long time that Greenland is open for enterprise, and with few exceptions, the principle cause for why not a lot has occurred has been that there hasn’t been a enterprise case for American corporations,” Olesen stated, including, “nothing has prevented U.S. corporations from getting into for a very long time.”

Would Trump use navy power to take Greenland?

• Mr. Trump stated on Jan. 21, “I do not need to use power, I will not use power” to take Greenland.
• He had beforehand declined to take the choice off the desk, saying the U.S. might do it “the straightforward means” or “the onerous means.”

President Trump, for the primary time, ruled out using force to accumulate Greenland in his speech on the World Financial Discussion board in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, 2026.

“We most likely will not get something except I determine to make use of extreme power and power the place we might be, frankly, unstoppable. However, I will not try this. Okay?” he stated. “Now everybody’s saying ‘oh, good.’ That is most likely the largest assertion I made, as a result of folks thought I might use power. I haven’t got to make use of power, I do not need to use power, I will not use power. All the USA is asking for is a spot referred to as Greenland.”

Mr. Trump stated he was “searching for speedy negotiations” to accumulate Greenland.

Beforehand, the president and White Home officers had instructed navy power was among the many choices being thought-about. 

“If we do not do it the straightforward means, we’ll do it the onerous means,” Mr. Trump said on Jan. 9, with out explaining what that would contain. The White Home said {that a} vary of choices, together with the usage of navy power, have been into account. 

“I would like to make a take care of them. It is simpler. However by hook or by crook, we’ll have Greenland,” Mr. Trump said Jan. 11.

Most Greenlanders do not need to be American

• Most Greenlanders say they don’t need to be part of the USA.
• Greenland’s leaders say they need good relations and cooperation.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen says his nation needs good relations with the U.S. He stated he didn’t “suppose that there is perhaps a takeover of the nation in a single day, and that’s the reason we’re insisting that we wish good cooperation.”

A poll conducted a year ago showed that 85% of Greenlanders didn’t need to be a part of the USA.

“He cannot simply take it like that,” Daniel Rosing, a trainee electrician who stated he was pleased with being a Greenlander, told CBS News forward of a go to final yr to the island by Vice President JD Vance and his spouse.

As Mr. Trump doubled down on his vows to take management of Greenland a technique or one other, and threatened eight of America’s closest allies with tariffs if they refuse to bow to his demand, 1000’s of residents of the island marched in its capital Nuuk to reject his rhetoric.

Nielsen stated in a Fb submit that the tariff threats wouldn’t change the Greenlandic folks’s views.

“We is not going to be pressured,” he stated.