The White House said Tuesday that President Trump is considering the possibility of using the U.S. military as part of an effort to acquire Greenland from Denmark.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Hill that Trump views securing Greenland as a key national security priority, especially as global competition intensifies in the Arctic. She said the administration is reviewing multiple strategies to pursue that goal and noted that military involvement is “always an option” available to the Commander in Chief.
Her comments followed reporting from The Wall Street Journal that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that Trump still aims to purchase the island. The push for Greenland has gained renewed attention after the administration’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, which officials say has emboldened broader geopolitical ambitions.
Trump has floated the idea of acquiring Greenland in the past, but the recent Venezuela operation appears to have strengthened his stance. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he argued that Denmark is unable to provide the level of protection the island requires and that the U.S. needs control of Greenland for security reasons.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller echoed that sentiment on CNN, saying the United States should eventually bring Greenland under U.S. control. He dismissed concerns about military conflict, arguing no nation would challenge the U.S. over the island’s future.
This is not the first time Trump has suggested that military force could play a role. In an interview last May, he said that while he viewed such a move as unlikely, he would not rule anything out when it comes to Greenland.
The idea has drawn swift pushback from European allies. Leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and Denmark issued a joint statement saying that Greenland belongs to its people and that decisions about the island’s future are solely for Denmark and Greenland to make.