U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Friday that he could punish countries with tariffs if they don’t support the United States taking control of Greenland, comments that came as a bipartisan Congressional delegation traveled to Copenhagen to try to lower tensions with Denmark and Greenland.
Trump has repeatedly argued for months that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. Earlier this week, he said anything short of the Arctic island being under U.S. control would be “unacceptable.”
Speaking during an unrelated White House event focused on rural health care, Trump said he had previously threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals — and indicated he could use similar pressure over Greenland.
“I may do that for Greenland too,” Trump said. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security.”
He had not previously publicly raised tariffs as a tool to force the issue.
Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The meeting did not resolve major disagreements, but it did result in an agreement to set up a working group — though Denmark and the White House later offered sharply different public explanations of what that group would do.
European leaders have maintained that decisions about Greenland’s future belong to Denmark and Greenland alone. Denmark also said this week it would increase its military presence in Greenland in coordination with allies.
U.S. delegation strikes a different tone in Copenhagen
In Copenhagen, U.S. senators and House members met Friday with Danish and Greenlandic lawmakers, along with leaders including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Delegation leader Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, thanked Denmark for “225 years of being a good and trusted ally and partner,” saying the group held “a strong and robust dialogue about how we extend that into the future.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said the visit reflected a relationship built over decades and “it is one that we need to nurture.” She added that “Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” calling that message a key takeaway from the meetings.
That tone stood in contrast to the White House’s approach. Trump has repeatedly claimed China and Russia are pursuing their own interests in Greenland, which holds large untapped reserves of critical minerals. The White House has not ruled out taking the territory by force.
“We have heard so many lies, to be honest and so much exaggeration on the threats towards Greenland,” said Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic politician and member of the Danish parliament who participated in Friday’s meetings. “And mostly, I would say the threats that we’re seeing right now is from the U.S. side.”
Murkowski cites U.S. public opinion and bipartisan pushback
Murkowski emphasized that Congress plays a central role in spending decisions and in conveying constituent views.
“I think it is important to underscore that when you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, some 75%, will say, we do not think that that is a good idea,” she said.
Along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, Murkowski has introduced bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the use of U.S. Defense or State Department funds to annex or take control of Greenland — or the sovereign territory of any NATO member state — without that ally’s consent or authorization from the North Atlantic Council.
Inuit leaders warn of a new wave of colonial pressure
The dispute is increasingly shaping daily life in Greenland. Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said Tuesday that “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.”
Sara Olsvig, chair of the Nuuk-based Inuit Circumpolar Council, which represents about 180,000 Inuit from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia’s Chukotka region, said repeated White House statements that the U.S. must own Greenland send “a clear picture” of how the administration views Greenland’s people and Indigenous communities.
Olsvig said the larger concern is how a major world power treats smaller, less powerful peoples — something she called deeply troubling. Indigenous Inuit in Greenland do not want to be colonized again, she said.
