WASHINGTON, D.C. — The fight over Greenland is heating up — on the ground, at the negotiating table, and in global markets — after new troop movements and fresh tariff threats from the Trump administration.
The tug of war over the acquisition of the autonomous territory of Denmark continues as the president gets ready to meet with world leaders at the World Economic Forum this week in Davos.
“How far are you willing to go to acquire Greenland?” a reporter asked the president during a press briefing Tuesday.
“You’ll find out,” Trump replied.
Tuesday, President Donald Trump reiterated his view that Greenland is vital to U.S. national security — pointing to Russian and Chinese activity in Arctic waters.
“But we need it for security purposes. We need it for national security and even world security, it’s very important,” said Trump.
Those comments come as Danish troops arrived in Greenland Monday, just days after several NATO allies sent small numbers of troops to participate in scheduled joint exercises with Denmark.
“Take a look at the North Pole and tell me who controls that up there right now. You’re going to find out — it’s the Chinese and the Russians,” said Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa. “If you’re talking about Greenland, there’s great assets in Greenland. And the question is, so why are Russia and China so concerned with those areas?”
Congress is split on the idea of acquiring Greenland. There is, however, bipartisan pushback on any plans to do so forcefully. Still, leaders throughout Europe and around the globe are wary and have expressed sharp criticism of the president’s recent rhetoric, which includes new tariff threats against countries that oppose the U.S. pursuing Greenland.
“Canada strongly opposes tariffs over Greenland and calls for focused talks to achieve our shared objectives of security and prosperity in the Arctic,” said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“What doesn’t make sense is to have tariffs between allies,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
European leaders are reportedly weighing countermeasures that could include cutting off U.S. access to critical markets — or a so-called “trade bazooka.”
“Donald Trump’s foolhardy tariffs have already driven up prices and damaged our economy and now he is only making things worse. It is incredible that he wants to double down on the stupidity by imposing tariffs on our closest allies for his quixotic quest to takeover Greenland. Senate Democrats will introduce legislation to block these tariffs before they do further damage to the American economy and our allies in Europe,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a recent statement.
The tariff threats caused some concern on Wall Street Tuesday— but not the panic seen during previous trade battles.
The president will depart for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday evening.
“We have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland. And I think things are going to work out pretty well, actually,” Trump said.
