Trump Pushes to Acquire Greenland, Warning of Russian and Chinese Threats to U.S. and NATO Security

President Donald Trump said the United States must acquire Greenland, not lease it, arguing the Arctic territory has limited defenses and warning that Russia or China would step in if Washington does not act—an outcome he said would have major implications for U.S. and NATO security.

Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump was asked about Greenland and whether the U.S. had made an offer to acquire the territory from Denmark.

“I haven’t done that,” Trump said, adding that Greenland should agree to a deal because it would not want Russia or China to take control. He mocked Greenland’s defenses, saying they amounted to “two dog sleds,” and contrasted that with what he described as Russian and Chinese naval forces operating in the region.

“In the meantime, you have Russian destroyers and submarines, and China destroyers and submarines all over the place,” Trump said. He insisted his administration would not allow that to happen and argued that if the situation affects NATO, then it becomes a NATO issue. Trump also claimed that U.S. leverage is stronger than its allies’, saying they need the United States more than the United States needs them.

Trump also made clear his administration is not pursuing a short-term lease, but is focused solely on acquiring the Danish territory.

“If we don’t do it, Russia or China will, and that’s not going to happen when I’m president,” Trump said.

His comments came as Greenland’s leaders again pushed back, rejecting calls from Trump and members of his administration for the U.S. to take control of the island.

Several officials in the Trump administration have echoed the president’s position, arguing Greenland’s strategic location makes U.S. control a national security necessity.

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said Friday night that the island has no interest in becoming part of the United States or Denmark, according to The Associated Press.

Greenland— a self-governing Danish territory and a longtime U.S. ally—has repeatedly dismissed Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. should acquire the island.

“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” the leaders said, adding that Greenland’s “future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”

Their statement also criticized Washington’s tone toward the island, urging that what they called the United States’ contempt for Greenland come to an end.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned last week that Trump’s annexation remarks could threaten NATO itself, arguing that any U.S. military action against a NATO ally would effectively end the alliance and the post–World War II security framework.

“If the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2.

Nielsen reinforced that message the same day, writing in a Facebook post that Greenland is “not an object of superpower rhetoric.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.