Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire for the United States to acquire Greenland. He has justified this position by arguing that Greenland is essential for national security, the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system, and access to critical minerals, and by warning that “Russia or China will take over Greenland” if the US does not.
While these claims contain a kernel of genuine concerns, they do not withstand close scrutiny, as existing security arrangements already address all of them.
In response to Trump’s comments on Greenland, Denmark sent the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark to meet with Rubio and Vance, to no avail. Also, Northern European countries like the Nordics, Britain, France, and Germany all sent a token force of troops to Greenland for military exercises, to which the Danes also invited the Americans.
On Saturday, Trump levied 10% tariffs on eight European countries most active in opposing the Greenland issue, with a threat to raise the tariff to 25% if the island is not under American control by June.
Greenland's importance to the US
Greenland is unquestionably important for US defense and is rich in mineral resources. China has attempted to gain a foothold through proposed investments in mining, airport renovations, and even the purchase of a disused Danish naval base. However, every one of these efforts failed.
American pressure also helped ensure that Chinese firms did not win contracts to renovate Greenland’s three airports, and Denmark removed the naval base from the market immediately after a Chinese purchase attempt. Russia’s involvement is largely limited to political influence operations encouraging Greenlandic independence. To quote one Nuuk resident, “The only Chinese I see is when I go to the fast food market.”
More importantly, Trump’s stated concerns are already fully addressed by existing agreements. Greenland is covered by NATO through Denmark and intends to remain within NATO even if it becomes independent, meaning any hostile takeover would trigger an Article 5 response. The 1951 US–Denmark defense agreement already allows the United States to establish military bases anywhere in Greenland.
This framework enabled the establishment of the existing US Space Force installation in Northeast Greenland, which would be central to any missile defense architecture, such as the Golden Dome, and it permits additional bases if needed.
Finally, Denmark has consistently proven to be one of Washington’s most cooperative allies. It would readily block Chinese or Russian economic encroachment at the US request and actively welcome American investment in Greenland’s mining sector. In short, the current security and political arrangements are more than sufficient, rendering the US acquisition of Greenland unnecessary.
This dust-up is a huge detriment to US-NATO relations, and great news for Russia and China, who also prefer weaker US-Europe relations. For Israel, it is a delicate moment of crisis between its top strategic ally and its top trade partner, explaining its choice to stay silent on the matter.
The writer is a Diane and Guilford Glazer Israel-China Policy Center Research Associate at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University.