President Donald Trump reiterated his calls for the United States to take control of Greenland after Saturday’s move to capture and extradite Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, saying that control of the island was more critical than ever from a national security standpoint.
Trump made the comments while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, and while he conceded that Greenland was not the number one priority at the moment, he made it clear that the issue was still on his radar.
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🚨 JUST IN: Denmark is PANICKING after President Trump insisted the US NEEDS Greenland, and Denmark isn’t treating it properly
“We need Greenland! For national security.”
“You know what Denmark did to ‘boost security?!’ Added ONE MORE DOG SLED! It’s true!” 😭
“Greenland is… pic.twitter.com/t7lijNpX4J
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 5, 2026
“How did we come up to Greenland? Well, I don’t want to talk about Greenland,” he said at first. “Let’s talk about Venezuela, Russia, Ukraine. We’ll worry about Greenland in about two months. Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
He then went on to give a few thoughts on the matter anyway, saying, “I will say this about Greenland — we need Greenland from a national security situation. It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.”
“And Denmark is not going to be able to do it, I can tell you,” he continued. “You know what Denmark did recently to boost up security on Greenland? They added one more dog sled. It’s true. They thought that was a great move.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen pushed back over the weekend, calling Trump’s remarks “very rude and disrespectful.”
“I have to say this very directly to the United States: It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen added. “The Kingdom of Denmark – and thus Greenland – is part of NATO and is therefore covered by the alliance’s security guarantee. We already have a defense agreement between the Kingdom and the United States today, which gives the United States wide access to Greenland.”
Frederiksen added a warning: “I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have said very clearly that they are not for sale.”