Name: Why Trump wants Greenland
Uploaded: 2026-01-08T08:20:14.769Z
Duration: 4 min 22 s
Description: The Trump administration has made it clear it wants to take control of Greenland and it isn’t ruling out using military force. For The National, CBC’s Eli Glasner breaks down why the U.S. has labelled annexing the sparsely-populated island a ‘national security priority.’

The Trump administration has made it clear it wants to take control of Greenland and it isn’t ruling out using military force. For The National, CBC’s Eli Glasner breaks down why the U.S. has labelled annexing the sparsely-populated island a ‘national security priority.’

Nuuk

The United States has shown renewed interest in Greenland, citing its strategic location between North America, Europe, and Russia. Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark with a small population, is considered vital for military staging, shipping routes, and early warning systems.

Senior U.S. officials have suggested that Greenland should be part of the United States, leading to concerns among NATO members, particularly Denmark. Experts note that existing agreements already allow the U.S. to expand its military presence if requested. Greenlandic and Danish officials have expressed anger over perceived threats, while analysts debate whether the U.S. interest is driven by natural resources or territorial expansion.

Why Trump wants Greenland

We need Greenland. But why? It's the largest island in the world. Average temperature in the north is negative 20, situated high up in the North Atlantic, populated by just 57,000. Well, it's all how you look at it. Look down from the Arctic Circle and Greenland's importance changes. It's a critical staging ground situated between Canada, Europe, and Russia. From shipping traffic to early warning systems and flight paths, Greenland is key. And according to senior White House aide Stephen Miller, ripe for the taking. Greenland should be part of the United States. The president has been very clear about that. It's somewhat horrifying that we have two of the founding NATO members engaged in such a dispute. To say Wendy Gilmore, a former assistant secretary at NATO, is concerned is an understatement. We have one of, in fact, the principal member of NATO issuing threats to the sovereignty of another NATO nation. The two members are the United States and Denmark. The island of Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. The mainly Inuit population governs itself, while Denmark takes care of foreign policy and defense. After the Second World War, the United States signed an agreement to cooperate in the defense of Greenland with Denmark. This is what puzzles Gilmore. If Trump really wants Greenland, as he says, From a national security situation. All he has to do is ask. Under the 1951 agreement, updated in 2004, the U.S. would simply have to go to the government in Greenland, the government of Denmark, and say, we want to increase our footprint, we want access to the following ports, bases. There would be very, I mean, almost inconceivable for the government of Denmark and Greenland to say no if the request is something which is reasonable. Well, decades ago, there were over a dozen American bases. There is currently only one, the Bidufik Space Base, a listening and watching post with about 150 U.S. service members. To have surveillance both, you know, as NATO now talks about from seabed to space, was always really important. While the Danish Navy has a limited presence, Gilmore says there's little way to stop any kind of American incursion for good reason. We have not established, nor has Denmark, nor has NATO established its military force posture to counter a threat from a founding NATO member. The U.S. is intrinsically, we talk about being part of the DNA of NATO. And while the prime minister of Denmark says any American aggression would end NATO entirely, in Greenland's capital, Tilly Martjensen, a former member of parliament, is seething. I think anger is the predominant feeling. We do not take kindly to threats and we don't like people who lie. And we think that Trump should come out openly and say that he wants the minerals, he wants the oil, he wants the rare earth minerals, he wants control of the Northeast Passage. So you think he wants what's under the land, what's under the snow? Yeah. We're already seeing a lot of American investors trying to buy up whatever mineral company is successful or unsuccessful. Atlantic staff writer Shane Harris believes it's not what's under the land, but the land itself. This is about territory. This is about his idea of expanding the size of the United States. I mean, fundamentally, he is a real estate guy. While the world waits to see what Trump does next, Gilmore says Canada should be worried. And one of the things that keeps me awake at night is wondering how much of the bellicosity toward Greenland is trying to send a message to, frankly, Canada or others, that the U.S. is just going to go ahead and do what it wants without the niceties of engaging, consulting, or cooperating with other nations whose territory they might wish to use.

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