Since returning to office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has revived an expansionist vision that places a US interest in Greenland at the center of US national security planning, critical minerals strategy, and a broader push for western hemispheric dominance.
Using a smorgasbord of executive orders, social media posts and direct actions, Trump has sought to re-draw the map, from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to threatening occupation and direct action against Panama, Venezuela, and now a US interest in Greenland, all with US military facilities in Greenland.
His State of the Union address pulled together a vision of greatness aided by territorial acquisition and place-branding, a strategy rooted in the 2025 National Security Strategy’s focus on the Indo-Pacific, the western hemisphere, and new strategic domains such as space and critical infrastructure of Greenland joining US.
US Take Over Greenland
Trump’s US Greenland annexation began in 2019, when he first offered to buy the autonomous Danish territory in what he described as “essentially a real estate deal.”
The proposal was firmly rebuffed by both Denmark and Greenland, prompting Trump to cancel a state visit to Copenhagen. During the Biden administration, such rhetoric disappeared, and the US military facility Thule was renamed Pituffik Space Base in 2023 to reflect Greenlandic heritage.
That changed after Trump’s second presidential victory in November 2024.
“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” Trump told The Atlantic on Sunday, framing the island as essential for U.S. national security and “economic security.” He claimed it is “surrounded” by Chinese and Russian ships and warned that increased US defense is necessary.
The US interest in Greenland administration has gone further, declining to rule out military force, exhibiting US air bases in Greenland. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded that the attack of US Greenland purchasewould end NATO, while eight European leaders issued a joint statement stressing sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders.
Despite pressure, Denmark and Greenland have been clear that the overture is not welcome. They remain open to discussing national security concerns but reject western hemispheric dominance as justification. European allies, including Germany and the UK, have expressed solidarity, warning that NATO unity is being threatened in real time.
US invading Greenland talks shows Trumps view of land as more than territory it’s a tool to secure rare minerals, boost US technology, and strengthen Arctic influence, positioning the country for global competition against Russia and China while shaping the future of AI, energy, and defense.
Tech Minerals and US Military Base Greenland
Beyond security, the country’s mineral potential looms large, hence why there is a US interest in Greenland.
The island holds rare earth minerals, uranium, oil, and clean energy resources critical to AI, data centers, and defense technology.
While Trump insists, “We need Greenland for national security, not minerals,” senior officials disagree. Former national security adviser Mike Waltz said the draw was “about critical minerals” and “natural resources.”
Rare earth materials are used in magnets which are important for defense and renewable technologies. “They’re used in small amounts, but they’re very important,” said Saleem Ali of the University of Delaware. Greenland also hosts one of the world’s largest uranium deposits at Kvanefjeld.
Still, experts argue that US and Greenland control is unnecessary.
“There’s a way for the Trump administration to get what it says it wants…by doing something that should be normal,” Nick Burns told TIME, urging respect for Danish sovereignty.
A 1951 defense treaty already allows the Greenland US national security to “construct, install, maintain, and operate” bases, including Pituffik Space Base.
As Trump boasts of a new “Donroe Doctrine” and pursues minerals from Greenland to Venezuela, critics warn the US risks acting like an imperial power. What remains clear is that there is a US interest in Greenland.
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