President Donald Trump’s White House has officially confirmed that the administration is actively exploring options to acquire Greenland, a strategic Arctic territory currently part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

In a statement to Reuters this week, the White House made clear that President Trump sees Greenland as essential to America’s defense posture:

“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region. The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Trump’s interest in Greenland is rooted in longstanding strategic logic: the island sits in the high Arctic between North America, Russia, and Europe, giving it unique value for early warning systems, missile defense, space tracking, and controlling emerging Arctic shipping routes as sea ice recedes. The U.S. already operates the Pituffik Space Base on Greenland under longstanding defense arrangements and has eyed the island for more than a century in light of its military advantages.

This isn’t a new idea. President Trump first floated purchasing Greenland from Denmark during his first term, and his Secretary of State has repeatedly emphasized that the proposal is serious and part of protecting U.S. interests.

While diplomacy remains the preferred path — including potential purchase negotiations or a Compact of Free Association with Greenland — the White House statement made clear that no option is off the table, including deploying military measures.

International Reaction

Denmark — a reliable NATO ally — has strongly rebuked the notion of U.S. control over Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded bluntly, saying:

“It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland.”

She emphasized Denmark’s commitment to mutual defense with the U.S. under NATO and urged Washington to respect Greenland’s sovereignty. Greenland’s own Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called Trump’s remarks “very rude and disrespectful,” underscoring that Greenlanders themselves have clearly rejected becoming a U.S. territory.

Despite the international pushback, the Trump administration argues Greenland should be part of a forward-looking defense strategy that safeguards U.S. interests amidst great-power competition.

This development follows broader Trump administration efforts in Latin America — including the recent arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro

Hours after the dramatic U.S. military operation in Venezuela, President Donald Trump sharply escalated his rhetoric toward other foreign governments, criticizing Colombia’s president and reviving his long-standing idea of acquiring Greenland.

Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, was initially responding to questions about a U.S. military operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as well as the future of Venezuela, when he shifted his focus to another South American country.

“Columbia’s very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he’s not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you,” Trump said.

When pressed by a reporter to clarify his remarks, Trump claimed that Gustavo Petro has “cocaine mills and cocaine factories.”

“It sounds good to me,” Trump responded.

“So there will be an operation by the U.S. in Colombia?” the reporter asked.