Declares Greenland purchase 'absolute necessity,' refuses to rule out military force

Trump resurfaced his first-term desire to purchase Greenland from Denmark, calling it "an absolute necessity" for national security, and in a January 2025 press conference refused to rule out using military force to acquire it. Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede responded on Facebook: "Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale." The threat was particularly egregious because Denmark is a NATO ally—Trump was threatening to use military force against an allied nation. Trump was reviving a failed 2019 proposal that had been widely condemned when first floated. The territorial ambitions demonstrated Trump's expansionist worldview and willingness to violate international norms and alliances.

"an absolute necessity" — Trump's characterization of Greenland acquisition