Trump rebukes Greenland PM for choosing Denmark over US, warns it could be ‘a big problem for him’

United States President Doland Trump’s latest interest is to acquire Greenland. On various occasions, Trump has stated its strategic and economic significance. This interest has resulted in widespread global discussion on the implications of how the US may acquire or invest in Greenland, as well as what this means for US strategy in the Arctic.

On Tuesday (local time), US President Doland Trump responded to statements made by the Premier of Greenland, Jens Frederik Nielsen, expressing a “preference to remain with Denmark” rather than join the US.

Why did Trump react strongly to Greenland’s decision?

United States President Doland Trump on Tuesday (local time) dismissed the statement and warned that it could create “a big problem” for the latter. The remarks were made after Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen had publicly stated that the self-governed Danish territory wants to remain part of Denmark rather than join the United States, amid US President Donald Trump’s ongoing push to take over the island, Al Jazeera reported.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said he “disagreed” with the Premier’s position and said he has no familiarity with him. The US President stated,“Well, that is their problem. I disagree with them. I don’t know who he is. Don’t know anything about him. But that is going to be a big problem for him.”

At a press briefing in Copenhagen with Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Nielsen stated that the autonomous Arctic territory would prefer to remain Danish. “We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark,” he was quoted as saying by an Al Jazeera report.

The island’s coalition government stated,” The United States has once again reiterated its desire to take over Greenland. This is something that the governing coalition in Greenland cannot accept under any circumstances.” Further, it added, “As part of the Danish commonwealth, Greenland is a member of NATO, and the defence of Greenland must therefore be through NATO.”

US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with the Foreign Ministers of Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday at the White House, Al Jazeera reported. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, stated during a press briefing in Copenhagen on Tuesday that they had requested this meeting with Secretary of State Rubio following threats made by President Trump.

“Our reason for seeking the meeting we have now been given was to move this whole discussion … into a meeting room where we can look each other in the eye and talk about these things,” Rasmussen was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

Why is Greenland strategically important to the US?

Greenland, the world’s largest island, is a self-governing territory within Denmark and a NATO partner of the United States. Both Danish and Greenlandic leaders have repeatedly rejected any suggestion that the island could be sold or annexed, emphasising that Greenland’s future should be decided by its own people.

Earlier on Saturday, Trump reiterated claims of having to do “something” about Greenland, “the easy way” or “the hard way”, saying that if the US doesn’t take any action, Russia and China would spring in and that Washington does not want to have them as neighbours.

“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland – and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour. I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said when he was asked about the island.