Trump calls anything short of U.S. control of Greenland 'unacceptable'

According to Time, President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning doubled down on his insistence that the United States annex Greenland, saying anything less than U.S. control is "unacceptable."

He again argued annexation was needed for "national security" and said NATO "should be leading the way for us to get it," adding that "NATO becomes far more formidable and effective" with Greenland under U.S. jurisdiction. The comments came hours before the Danish and Greenland foreign ministers were set to meet with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House.

Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, has publicly rejected U.S. control. In a rebuke on Tuesday, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens‑Frederik Nielsen said, "We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark." Standing with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen on Jan. 13, 2026, Nielsen added: "We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the E.U."

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Greenland, Nato, Jens-frederik Nielsen, Mette Frederiksen