The White House said Tuesday that acquiring Greenland is a "national security priority" and that using the U.S. military to achieve that goal is under consideration.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” it said.
The White House statement was issued shortly after major European allies, including Denmark, said in a joint statement that they would “not stop defending” the values of sovereignty and Greenland’s territorial integrity.
“Greenland belongs to its people,” they said.
A senior White House official told NBC News that other options under consideration include purchasing the territory from Denmark or forming what's known as a compact of free association with the island.
The U.S. government has similar agreements with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau. Those deals include financial assistance in exchange for allowing the U.S. to have security presences there.
The U.S. has had a military base in Greenland for decades.
President Donald Trump and his team have expressed their desire to take over the semi-autonomous territory for months, citing its strategic importance and vast mineral wealth. The pronouncements have ramped up in recent days, with Trump telling NBC News on Monday that he was "very serious" about acquiring the territory.
U.S. allies in NATO have begun to take the threats more seriously in the wake of last weekend's attack against Venezuela and the ouster of its president, Nicolás Maduro.
“The Kingdom of Denmark — including Greenland — is part of NATO,” the leaders of France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland, Spain and Denmark said in their joint statement.
“Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the U.N. Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders," they added. “It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”
Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, told CNN on Monday that it's the formal position of the Trump administration that “Greenland should be part of the United States.”
Asked whether military action was off the table, Miller said, "It wouldn’t be military action against Greenland."
"The real question is, what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?" he said.
The U.S. signed an agreement in 1916 saying it “will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland” as part of a deal to buy what is now called the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Trump alarmed Danish officials last month when he named Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland. The Republican governor has publicly supported Trump’s proposal to incorporate Greenland into the U.S. In a post on X thanking Trump, Landry called the appointment a “volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the U.S.”
Using the military to acquire Greenland would not have the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
“No, I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Johnson said in response to a question Tuesday night from NBC News.
“I think Greenland is viewed by a lot of people as something that would be a strategic position for the U.S.,” Johnson told reporters as he left the Capitol. “I don’t know how it develops from there.”
Asked if Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in Monday's classified briefing that Trump preferred to buy Greenland, Johnson said, "I don’t remember that. He might have said it in jest or something. I’m not sure."
Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that he does not "think anybody’s talking about using military force in Greenland."
"They’re looking at diplomatic channels," he said.
Asked about the White House's comments on the military, Johnson said, "The U.S. always has military options for everything."
"I think it’s a general statement," he added. "I think with Greenland, it’s very clear that we are working on their diplomatic channels."
On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told local radio that he had spoken to Rubio and that his American counterpart had “ruled out the possibility of what has just happened in Venezuela happening in Greenland.”
Trump has spoken more about taking over Greenland following the 2024 presidential election. Last January, before taking office, Trump suggested he could use military force to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told her country’s TV2 on Monday that “if the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, have requested a meeting with Rubio in the near future, according to a statement posted Tuesday to Greenland’s government website. Previous requests for a sit-down were not successful, the statement said.
