Denmark has entered what officials describe as “full crisis mode” after U.S. President Donald Trump once again suggested that the United States needs to take control of Greenland for national security reasons. The renewed comments came just one day after a major U.S. military operation in Venezuela, in which Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, an intervention that sent shock waves across the global political landscape.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump argued that Denmark is unable to guarantee Greenland’s security, a claim that immediately raised concern in Copenhagen. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it, I can tell you,” Trump said. His remarks echoed similar statements made in a recent interview with The Atlantic, reviving a controversial position he has expressed in the past.
The timing of Trump’s comments has intensified alarm within the Danish government. Denmark is responsible for the defense and foreign affairs of Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Officials fear that the combination of assertive rhetoric and the recent U.S. military action in Venezuela signals a more aggressive American approach to securing strategic interests abroad.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded swiftly and unequivocally, rejecting any suggestion that Greenland could fall under U.S. control. In a statement posted on her official Facebook page on Sunday, Frederiksen addressed Washington directly. “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,” she wrote, reaffirming Denmark’s position that Greenland’s status is governed by international law and the principle of self-determination.
