What Does Trump Want With Greenland?
President Trump insisted for months that the Danish territory should be part of the United States. Now, a security deal — not a takeover — seems to be on the table.
By Maya Tekeli Lynsey Chutel and Amelia Nierenberg
After months of threats, retorts and closed-door negotiations, the United States has reached a deal to expand its security presence in Greenland, the semiautonomous Danish territory, according to President Trump.
The specifics of the agreement, announced on Friday , were not immediately made public. But it clearly falls short of the outright American takeover that Mr. Trump had demanded, a threat that roiled the NATO alliance, of which Denmark is a member.
In a social media post, Mr. Trump said the deal gave the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in Greenland. But the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, stressed that the agreement “recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Denmark.
Mr. Trump had said since his first term that the United States wanted to acquire Greenland , and he became more insistent about it after returning to office last year. One of his aides said Mr. Trump wanted to buy the island , and another suggested that the United States could simply take it by force .
