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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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Greenland's prime minister, Múte Bourup Egede, issued a defiant response to U.S. President Donald Trump after he said America would eventually take control of the Arctic island.
"Americans and their leader need to understand this. We're not for sale and can't just be taken. Our future is decided by us in Greenland," Egede wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday, declaring: "We are not Americans".
Why It Matters
Greenland is a vast, resource-rich island to the northeast of Canada. It is a self-governing territory belonging to Denmark and has untapped oil and gas reserves, as well as sought-after rare earths, graphite, nickel, zinc, gold, tungsten and more.
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Trump sees Greenland as a place of major strategic significance to the U.S. because of its resources and position in the Arctic, where China and Russia are active.
But his vocal desire to secure Greenland for the U.S. is creating yet more tension with Europe, and especially Denmark, a NATO ally.
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What to Know
The U.S. president made his comments during an address to Congress on Tuesday evening.
"I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future and if you choose we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said.
"We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we're working with everybody involved to try and get it.
"But we need it really for international, for world security, and I think we're going to get it. One way or the other, we're going to get it."
There is a strong independence movement in Greenland and some of the population would like to fully break away from Danish control. But opinion polls suggest that does not translate into a desire to join the U.S. instead.
A poll by Verian in January 2025 found that 85 percent of Greenlanders did not want to leave the Danish Realm and become part of the U.S. But 56 percent of Greenlanders said they would vote yes in an independence referendum.
What People Are Saying
Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark's foreign minister, told the Associated Press: "I'm very optimistic about what will be a Greenlandic decision about this. They want to loosen their ties to Denmark, we're working on that, to have a more equal relationship."
Mike Waltz, U.S. national security advisor in the Trump Administration, posted on X: "The people of Greenland should determine their own future and we would gladly welcome them into our great country. We can protect Greenland and provide them prosperity!"
Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations and a former prime minister of Sweden, wrote on X: "Trump repeats the threat of [U.S.] occupying, annexing or absorbing [Greenland]. That's the Putin way of treating countries."
What Happens Next
This is unlikely to be the last we'll hear from Trump on Greenland. He has repeatedly stated his desire to secure Greenland for the U.S. The question is if—and how—he can achieve it when so many Greenlanders oppose joining the U.S.
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