Trump Asserts Denmark Granted U.S. Permanent Security Control Over Greenland

Former President Donald Trump declared that Denmark has ceded control of Greenland's security to the United States, granting Washington unlimited authority to act on the island "forever" without financial cost. According to Trump, the arrangement has no expiration date and explicitly prohibits any adversary from establishing a military presence without written U.S. permission. He added that the United States will immediately begin building a substantial military footprint in Greenland.

The claim, which Danish and Greenlandic officials have not confirmed, would mark a dramatic shift in the Arctic territory's strategic posture. Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, already hosts the U.S. Pituffik Space Base under existing defense agreements. Trump's assertion suggests a sweeping new accord that would effectively place the island's defense entirely under American command.

The statement aligns with Trump's long-standing transactional view of alliances. He has repeatedly accused U.S. allies of benefiting from American security guarantees without offering reciprocal support, citing South Korea's refusal to back Washington on Iran as a recent example. His Greenland claim appears to extend that logic, seeking unilateral control over a strategically vital Arctic asset while framing it as a cost-free gain for the United States.