Fear in Greenland over threat of imminent invasion

Trump threatens to impose tariffs against those who oppose his annexation of Greenland. President increases pressure on European allies while US envoy states that agreement to annex the island “must and will be done”.

Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on countries that do not “agree” with his plan to annex Greenland, increasing pressure on European allies who oppose his attempt to take control of the Arctic territory.

After a tense week in which NATO allies sent troops to the largely autonomous territory that is part of the kingdom of Denmark, the US president announced that he may punish countries that do not support his plans to annex Greenland, using force if necessary.

Previously, Trump’s special envoy for Greenland stated that a deal for Washington to take control of the island “should and will be done”, during the visit of an American congressional delegation to Copenhagen, in a show of support for Denmark and Greenland.

Jeff Landry said he plans to visit Greenland in March and that the US president “is serious” about acquiring the Arctic island.

The bipartisan group of 11 House and Senate members – including Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Senator Chris Coons – traveled to Denmark’s capital to meet with Danish and Greenlandic leaders Mette Frederiksen and Jens-Frederik Nielsen in a show of solidarity against Trump’s threats of military intervention.

This is the second time this week that Trump has used the threat of tariffs, saying he will impose a 25% tax on imports into the US from countries that do business with Iran, amid a brutal crackdown by the Iranian regime that has left thousands dead and tens of thousands arrested.

On Friday, Trump raised the idea of ​​tariffs during a wide-ranging, largely uninterrupted 45-minute speech at a packed event on rural health care in the East Room of the White House.

Trump told the audience of lawmakers, doctors and influential political figures that he could impose tariffs on countries that don’t “agree with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security.”

He mentioned threats he made against European allies over drug prices, saying he warned France and Germany of 25% tariffs if they did not pay more for prescription drugs, and recalled telling French President Emmanuel Macron: “You have to raise drug prices.”

He mused that he could take the same approach to Denmark and “maybe do the same with Greenland.”

His comments came after Landry told Fox News: “I believe a deal should and will be done as this unfolds.”

He added: “The president is serious. I think he’s made the guidelines clear.”

“He has already told Denmark what he is looking for, and now it is a matter of Secretary Rubio and Vice President JD Vance coming to an agreement.”

Denmark announced that it has agreed to provide support to help Greenland with its emergency preparedness.

Torsten Schack Pedersen, Denmark’s Minister of Public Security and Emergency Preparedness, said: “It is important that we remain united.”

Peter Borg, Greenland’s Minister of Fisheries, Hunting, Agriculture, Self-Reliance and Environment, said his government “appreciates Denmark’s support to strengthen preparedness in Greenland.”

This week, Greenlandic residents living in the capital, Nuuk, said they were so terrified of the US threat that they were monitoring the skies and seas themselves. In the absence of support from authorities for emergency preparedness, many said they were left to their own devices to come up with plans for what to do in the event of an emergency evacuation or capture by U.S. forces.

During the Congressional visit to Denmark, for which the Greenlandic flag, Erfalasorput, was raised at Christiansborg Palace, American lawmakers were scheduled to meet with other Danish and Greenlandic politicians, as well as Frederiksen and Nielsen.

Arriving for a lunch at the Confederation of Danish Industry, Democrat Steny Hoyer told TV 2: “Keep the faith. You have a lot of people with you.”

At a joint press conference, Coons thanked Denmark for “225 years of being a good and reliable ally and partner” and said they had a “strong and solid” dialogue about how to continue their relationship in the future.

“There is a lot of rhetoric but little reality” in Washington, he said, in discussions about Greenland. He added that they hoped to use information from the visit to try to “ease tension” and have a “constructive dialogue” at home.

Murkowski stated that most Americans did not want a US annexation of Greenland, adding: “Greenland needs to be seen as our ally, not an asset.”

Following Wednesday’s closely watched high-stakes meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Vice President Vance and the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark, the two sides presented sharply contrasting versions of what was agreed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that a delegation from Denmark and Greenland had agreed to “continue technical conversations on the acquisition of Greenland.”

But Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland respectively, contradicted his claims.

Rasmussen stated that they had not reached such an agreement, but that they had formed a working group to investigate whether it would be possible to “meet” US security desires for the Arctic region.

Motzfeldt said Leavitt was not present at the meeting, telling the Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq: “There is a lot of work ahead, the situation is still very uncertain, but we have a new channel, a place where we can talk directly to each other.”

On Thursday, Frederiksen said the defense of Greenland was a “common concern” for NATO, with the arrival of international troops from across Europe in Greenland.

A spokesman for the German Defense Ministry said on Friday that the reconnaissance mission would assess the feasibility of sending Eurofighters to the territory.

“This is about analyzing whether the Arctic is safe and to what extent we can contribute to this together with our NATO partners,” said the spokesperson.

Originally published by The Guardian on 01/16/2026

Bryant ‘s Bryant in Joseph