Trump demanded that Denmark cede Greenland

Greenland should become part of the United States to ensure national security and defense against alleged Chinese and Russian threats. This was stated by US President-elect Donald Trump on January 7.

"We need Greenland for national security purposes. I was told this long before I ran for office. There are only about 45,000 people on the island, and no one really knows if Denmark has a legal right to it," he announced during his speech at Mar-a-Lago.

The president-elect also pointed to the increasing presence of Russia and China in the Arctic region, specifying that their ships can already be found near Greenland. In this regard, Trump offered the island his defense.

Earlier, on December 22, 2024, Trump, announcing the appointment of an ambassador to Denmark, stressed that for the United States "the possession and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity." The American politician expressed interest in buying Greenland from Denmark back in 2019. At that time, he was turned down.

Members of the Danish Parliament on December 24, 2024 condemned Trump's return to the topic of buying the island, called his statement unacceptable and described these words as "cynical superpower policy".

The New York Post reported the same day that the purchase of Greenland could be the largest territorial acquisition of the United States in the nation's history, surpassing the purchase of Louisiana from France, made in 1803 and nearly doubling the territory of the United States.

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on December 25 that the country had prepared a new defense package to protect Greenland, with at least $1.5 billion earmarked.

Later, on January 6, King Frederik X of Denmark changed the state's coat of arms, making Greenland and the Faroe Islands more prominent on it. The Guardian noted that this could be seen as a rebuke to Trump.