Why does Trump want to take over Greenland?

President Donald Trump and his allies have said repeatedly that the United States wants to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the president wants to buy it. Stephen Miller, a top aide to the president, has suggested that the United States could take it by force.

Trump and his advisers have floated various reasons for taking over the territory: national and international security, access to minerals and the “psychological” necessity. He wrote in a text message to Norway’s prime minister on Sunday that he was pushing to acquire Greenland because Norway did not give him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump has escalated the pressure campaign in recent days, despite forceful objections from the leaders of Greenland and Denmark that they are not interested in a sale, and that Greenland does not want to become part of the United States.

On Saturday, in a Truth Social post, he threatened that if the United States could not buy Greenland, he would retaliate against European nations that have opposed a deal by imposing fresh tariffs — starting with 10% in February, then 25% in June.

European leaders are weighing how to respond. Some, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have urged the use of a trade “bazooka,” which could impose limits on business by big U.S. technology companies in Europe. Others hope to negotiate, fearing that pushing back forcefully could permanently damage the NATO alliance that for nearly 80 years has united trans-Atlantic nations.

Why does Trump say he wants Greenland?

Trump initially said that the island was vital for U.S. national security.

Most of Greenland is inside the Arctic Circle, where superpowers are vying for military and commercial dominance. Controlling the island would give Washington an outpost in an important naval corridor connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic, where climate change is melting the ice and making once unnavigable territory a theater of competition.

“If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland,” Trump told reporters Jan. 9.

Chinese and Russian navies are active in the Arctic, and critical undersea communications cables have made the region a site of renewed superpower conflict. However, Trump has falsely suggesting that Greenland was surrounded by Chinese and Russian warships.

Greenland also has huge stores of rare-earth minerals used for making batteries, electric vehicles and other high-tech items. Currently, China dominates the global market for the minerals.

Vice President JD Vance has spoken of Greenland’s “incredible natural resources.” Last year, Republican senators held a hearing on “Greenland’s Geostrategic Importance,” highlighting its rare earths.

But given that Greenland has few roads and ports, and many environmentalists opposed to development, any mining and oil extraction in Greenland is challenging and may not be economically viable.

Trump said in an interview with The New York Times that nothing short of ownership of Greenland was acceptable.

“Because that’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success,” he said. “I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do, whether you’re talking about a lease or a treaty.”

Asked whether it was psychologically important to him personally, or to the United States, he responded, “Psychologically important for me.”

Does the U.S. need Greenland for security reasons?

National security experts have said that the United States could accomplish its security goals under an existing treaty, without buying or taking over Greenland.

“The U.S. has such a free hand in Greenland that it can pretty much do what it wants,” said Mikkel Runge Olesen, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen.

The United States has had troops in Greenland since World War II and keeps a small missile defense base there called Pituffik Space Base.

Under a 1951 treaty, the United States has the right to reopen other military bases that it once had there but closed long ago. The agreement allows it to “construct, install, maintain and operate” military bases across Greenland, “house personnel” and “control landings, takeoffs, anchorages, moorings, movements, and operation of ships, aircraft and waterborne craft.”

Who controls Greenland?

Greenland is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, which colonized it more than 300 years ago. Greenland achieved home rule in 1979, taking control over most internal affairs.

Since 2009, Greenlanders have had the right to hold an independence referendum. But Denmark manages Greenland’s foreign policy, defense and other areas. And the island is still largely economically dependent on Denmark: Greenland receives an annual subsidy that pays for its schools, cheap gas and strong social services.

While Greenlanders are happy to do business with the United States, polls show that about 85% are against being part of it.

On Saturday, crowds of people in several cities in Greenland and Denmark gathered to protest against a U.S. takeover.

Can Trump take over Greenland?

By any measure, it would not be easy.

Last year, in an address to Congress, Trump said, “I think we’re going to get it — one way or the other.” It is not clear how he would do that.

In the Times interview, Trump said he “wouldn’t comment” on using the military to take over Greenland, adding, “I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”

Military action would rip apart NATO, of which Denmark and the United States are both founding members. But Trump and some of his top officials have repeatedly refused to rule it out.

Trump has also tried to use economic leverage to sway public opinion in his favor. On social media last year, he made a direct pitch to Greenlanders: “We are ready to INVEST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create new jobs and MAKE YOU RICH.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.