"Greenland Belongs To Its People": Europe Pushes Back Against Trump's Threats

Several European leaders issued a joint statement defending Greenland's sovereignty in the wake of Trump's comments about annexing the territory. "Greenland belongs to its people," the statement said. "It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland."

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in defending Greenland's sovereignty in the wake of Trump's comments about Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of the kingdom of Denmark and thus part of the NATO military alliance.

Joint Statement on Greenlandhttps://t.co/ORMWHpKEJt pic.twitter.com/wu1SdF1INN

— Statsministeriet (@Statsmin) January 6, 2026

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday said that Trump's comments about Greenland "should be taken seriously" and warned that if the US decides to attack another NATO country, then "everything stops". 

"That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War," Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2.

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said on Monday that "nobody is going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland".

"The president has been clear for months now that the United States should be the nation that has Greenland as part of our overall security apparatus," Miller said during an interview with CNN Monday afternoon.

According to Trump, the US needs Greenland to secure the country from China and Russia's rising threats in the Arctic.

"Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place," Trump said. "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it."

Trump's comments Sunday, including telling reporters, "Let's talk about Greenland in 20 days," deepened fears that the US was planning a Greenland intervention in the near future.

Increasing international tensions, global warming and the changing world economy have put Greenland at the heart of the debate over global trade and security, and Trump wants to make sure his country controls this mineral-rich island that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America.