By Tom Ozimek

President Donald Trump said on Jan. 14 that NATO would be a stronger and more credible deterrent if Greenland were in the hands of the United States, renewing his long-running push for control of the Danish-controlled territory that has unsettled European allies and sparked blunt objections across the NATO alliance.

“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

If the United States does not control Greenland, then Russia or China will, Trump warned, adding that without U.S. support, NATO would be an ineffective force or deterrent.

“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,“ Trump said. ”Anything less than that is unacceptable.”

Greenland’s strategic location has long been understood to be important from a U.S. security perspective.

The Atlantic Council recently noted that early-warning and missile-tracking radar systems stationed in Greenland “feed directly into US homeland defense,” while the island’s geography also makes it increasingly important for satellite command and control, space tracking, and secure communications as rivals develop counter-space and cyber capabilities.

The United States already has a long-standing military foothold on Greenland through Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base. The Arctic installation has hosted U.S. forces since World War II and plays a key role in U.S. and NATO security architecture in the region.

However, Trump has said that only U.S. control of Greenland can allow it to be adequately secured and that anything short of full U.S. ownership is inadequate to meet mounting threats from Russia and China.

Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and both Denmark and the United States are NATO members. The issue has become a growing diplomatic irritant for Denmark, which has said there is no strategic need for U.S. ownership of Greenland because the island already falls under NATO’s collective defense umbrella.

European Leaders Respond

Trump’s comments framing the dispute as an alliance-strengthening question come at a time when a number of NATO partners have bristled at the notion of U.S. control over Greenland.

Several European leaders have said that any attempt to alter sovereignty arrangements around the Arctic island could fracture alliance unity and set a dangerous precedent inside the NATO bloc.

France has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of the Trump administration’s posture, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Jan. 14 denouncing what he described as U.S. “blackmail” over Greenland, in the latest sign of irritation among Washington’s allies.

Barrot said that France plans to open a consulate in Greenland in February, a move that would expand France’s diplomatic footprint on the island as European leaders seek to underscore their support for Danish sovereignty.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Jan. 14 that any threat to the sovereignty of a European ally could have sweeping consequences beyond the Arctic.

“We do not underestimate statements on Greenland,” Macron said during a cabinet meeting, according to French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon.

“If the sovereignty of a European country and ally were to be affected, the knock-on effects would be unprecedented. France is monitoring the situation very closely and will act in full solidarity with Denmark and its sovereignty.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also weighed in earlier on Jan. 14, saying Greenlanders could rely on the European Union’s support, highlighting the bloc’s political stake in the island’s future.

Last week, Denmark’s major European allies joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in issuing a statement declaring that Greenland belongs to its people and that “it is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told reporters in Copenhagen on Jan. 13, “If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.”

When asked for comment on Nielsen’s comments later that day, Trump told reporters that he disagrees and that Nielsen’s position on the matter is “going to be a big problem for him.”

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.