Greenland crisis
Since 2025, the United States under the second Trump administration has several times sought to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, triggering an international crisis. This escalated in early January 2026 after Donald Trump refused to rule out the use of military force to annex Greenland and threatened a 25% import tax on European Union goods unless Denmark ceded Greenland. Trump's statements sparked a confrontation with Denmark and the EU, reigniting earlier concerns of a US–EU trade war. On 21 January, Trump reversed his position at the 2026 Davos conference, pledging not to use military force against Greenland or to impose tariffs on any European countries.
Trump had unsuccessfully tried to purchase Greenland during his first presidency. After his 2024 re-election, in January 2026, he said "it may be a choice" whether to preserve NATO or seize Greenland and that he "Dear Jonas|no longer an obligation to think purely of Peace" after not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. A report by the Danish Defence Intelligence Service mentioned the US as a potential threat to national security for the first time in its history and raised concerns about reports that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had assigned agents to spy on Greenland.
The Greenlandic and Danish prime ministers rejected any prospect of US takeover, saying Danish troops would defend Greenland in the event of an attack. Denmark said it would invoke Article 5 of NATO if attacked, and EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius said EU members would be required to assist Denmark. Denmark and eight NATO allies deployed forces to defend the territory. In response, Trump threatened a trade war against the EU, leading European politicians to suspend a proposed EU–US trade agreement and begin moves to impose sanctions on the US.
Trump's threats led to large-scale protests against annexation in both Greenland and Denmark. A YouGov poll found only 8% of Americans supported an invasion of Greenland, with 73% opposed. Trump's actions faced heavy opposition from both major parties in Congress, with Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson describing Trump's threats as "completely inappropriate" and a bipartisan congressional delegation traveling to Copenhagen to support Denmark–US relations.
On 21 January, Trump reversed course following pressure from aides, ruling out the use of military force and abandoning tariff threats after talks with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte reached what Trump called a "framework of a future deal". Greenland and Denmark said no deal has yet been reached and ruled out any deal altering the sovereignty of Greenland and Denmark, with Trump's comments referring to pre-existing commitments from a 1951 US–Denmark treaty. The crisis was described as one of the most erratic episodes involving a US president, prompting renewed scrutiny of Trump's age and fitness for office, while also being cited as damaging US global standing and as showing the limits of his coercive powers.
Background
Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and has been associated with the Scandinavian kingdoms of Denmark and Norway for more than a millennium, beginning in 986 AD when Norse settlers from what is now Norway and Iceland settled Greenland. The 13th century saw the arrival of the Inuit, the ancestors of today's majority population. After around 400 years, the Norse settlement in Greenland is believed to have died out in the late 15th century, but the legends of it persisted in Scandinavia. This prompted King Christian IV to send an expedition to Greenland in 1605 to locate the lost Eastern Norse Settlement and reassert sovereignty over Greenland. Norwegian priest Hans Egede reestablished a permanent Dano-Norwegian presence in 1721, founding the town of Godthaab. Today's population is mainly Inuit, with a smaller Danish population, and many people are of mixed Inuit and Danish origin. Greenlanders often have close family, personal and cultural ties to Denmark, with thousands living there.Greenland formally became part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1261, when the Norse inhabitants submitted to the King of Norway. Norway then entered a union with Denmark in 1380. Under the 1814 Treaty of Kiel, Greenland remained with the Danish Crown as part of the settlement with Sweden following the Napoleonic Wars. Denmark declared full sovereignty over all of Greenland, including the uninhabited parts, in 1921, in the aftermath of the Treaty of Versailles. In 1933, Norway, which occupied part of Eastern Greenland, accepted a ruling of the Permanent Court of International Justice affirming Danish sovereignty over all of Greenland and renounced its claim.
The 1953 Constitution of Denmark ended Greenland's status as a colony, integrating it fully into the Danish state as a regular county, as part of decolonization efforts and with the consent of the Greenland Provincial Council. In the 1979 Greenlandic home rule referendum, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland, leading to the establishment of a local government authority with responsibility for local matters, but Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, with the central government in Copenhagen solely responsible for defence and foreign policy. As part of the Nordic region and the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is an associate member of the Nordic Council. Greenland is one of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union. Greenlanders are Danish citizens and therefore also EU citizens.
In 2009, Greenland was recognised by the Kingdom of Denmark and under international law as a people entitled to external self-determination. Most political parties in Greenland favor independence from Denmark as a long-term goal, with a draft constitution for an independent Greenlandic state presented by lawmakers in 2023, but the majority does not favor severing ties with Denmark in the short term.
Denmark is one of the twelve original founding member states of NATO and signed the Greenland Defense Agreement with the US in 1951, allowing the US military to operate in Greenland with Danish consent under a NATO framework. At its peak, approximately 10,000 US military personnel were stationed in Greenland, including about 6,000 at what is now Pituffik Space Base. After the Cold War, Greenland became a lower strategic priority for the US, which gradually reduced its presence to roughly 150 personnel by 2026. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Denmark supplied military aid to the United States as part of is NATO Article 5 obligation, incurring 44 deaths in the Afghan War.
Denmark stepped up its Arctic defence and led a large NATO exercise in Greenland in 2025. The exercise involved more than 550 soldiers, including special forces, from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, and Germany. The Nordic countries also collaborate on Arctic defence through NATO exercises conducted across the region, such as the Joint Viking exercise in 2025. In 2025, Denmark announced a plan to boost Arctic defence.
Greenland is under the military command of the Joint Arctic Commander, Danish general Søren Andersen. The Arctic Command has around 150 permanent personnel, but regularly deploys units from across the Danish Defence forces, including the Arctic Response Force with aircraft and ships that stand ready to support forces in Greenland. The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol special forces unit operates around Daneborg in the northeast of Greenland, a national park, but only comprises a small part of Danish and allied military capabilities in Greenland. As of 2026, NATO members are in discussions about establishing a permanent NATO mission in Greenland, Arctic Sentry, modelled on the Baltic Sentry, following a proposal by Germany. Law enforcement in Greenland employs around 350 people. As of 2026, hundreds of elite Danish combat soldiers trained in arctic warfare have been deployed to Greenland, including the Chief of the Royal Danish Army, General Peter Harling Boysen, with Denmark stating its intention to send a "substantial contribution" of its armed forces there in response to the Greenland crisis. Denmark said the deployment might stay in Greenland for 1–2 years.
During the first Trump administration, United States president Donald Trump said that the US should buy Greenland. The governments of Denmark and Greenland clarified that Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold under the Danish constitution, and the Danish government has always rejected such proposals, which Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called "an absurd discussion". Greenland has invited US investment, stating that "we're open for business, not for sale".
In December 2024, president-elect Trump, before the onset of his second administration, reiterated his interest in the US assuming control of Greenland stating that "for purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."