US President Donald Trump wants to take over Greenland from Denmark and “redraw the map”, Ian Bremmer, Founder and President of the Eurasia Group, has said. The US President has directed his administration to plan for American sovereignty in Greenland, even without any current invasion strategy, Bremmer told NDTV's Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal.
“There's no boots on the ground in Greenland. There's no plan for invasion, but there is an intention for the United States to take Greenland, that Trump wants Greenland to no longer belong to Denmark,” Bremmer said on Tuesday. “He wants it to belong to the United States and he wants some form of agreement directly between the US and the Greenlanders.”
“Will that be successful? Will they execute on it? How long will they take? I have no idea because Trump has no idea. But that is the state of play as of right now.” he added.
READ: A Political Revolution In US? Ian Bremmer Explains To NDTV What It Means
Asked about the likelihood of US military strikes on Greenland, Bremmer did not rule it out.
“Never say zero: 2 per cent, 1 per cent. It's not about military strikes, but I think that there is absolutely going to be political and economic effort and perhaps military pressure.”
He added that pressure could take many forms. “Some will be overt and some will be covert. There might be information campaigns, the rest.”
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Trump's renewed focus on Greenland comes after the recent US invasion of Venezuela, where American forces picked the sitting President Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York on drug trafficking charges. Trump has since said that Venezuela's “Interim Authorities” would sell 30-50 million barrels of oil to the US at market prices, with the proceeds controlled by him but meant to benefit both nations.
On Tuesday, Trump said the use of military force was “always on the table” while talking about acquiring Greenland.
According to Bremmer, Trump's definition of the Western Hemisphere is unusually broad. “The Western Hemisphere is defined in a Trumpian way. It doesn't just include Canada and Latin America, but also Greenland, which isn't part of the Western Hemisphere, but it is a part of the ‘Donroe' Doctrine.” Trump's “Donroe Doctrine” is his version of the Monroe Doctrine, meaning the US can use politics, money, or military power to control events in its neighbourhood.
Bremmer added, “Trump intends to have American sovereignty over Greenland, which is a part of Denmark, of course, a NATO ally of the United States.”
“Part of this is an extension of America First policies into foreign policy. Part of it is a recognition that the tariffs that were the principal tool to project US power in 2025 now have less force in 2026,” Bremmer said.
On Greenland takeover being a possibility, Bremmer said, “He's now focused in an area where he has a lot more power, which is the military, and he's certainly displayed with quite enormous success in Venezuela that he's not only willing to use it, but he's capable of using it for outcomes that he wants.”
“I think that President Trump wants sovereignty over Greenland. So this is absolutely a feeling that the United States can redraw the map,” he said.
Bremmer said European leaders, particularly in Denmark, are now waking up to the seriousness of the situation. “They are finally taking it seriously, and I'm glad they are. They should have taken it seriously months ago.” “If Trump wants more security access, basing rights, intelligence stations, if he wants access for resource exploitation, all of those things the Denmark government would be willing to negotiate,” he added.
“The only thing that they are not prepared to negotiate is the territorial integrity of Denmark and Trump is not interested in negotiating with Denmark,” Bremmer said.
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