U.S. President Donald Trump again underscored his intention to annex Greenland, a Danish territory, citing Denmark's alleged failure to defend against Russia's security threat.
Trump said on the 18th (local time) in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that "the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has demanded over the past 20 years that Denmark remove the Russian threat from Greenland, but Denmark failed." He added, "Regrettably, Denmark did nothing," and emphasized, "Now the time has come, and (the annexation of Greenland) will be accomplished." Within less than two hours of being posted, the message drew thousands of shares and likes, rallying his supporters.
The remarks appear designed to build a case for securing sovereignty over Greenland. The argument is that because Denmark cannot protect Greenland from Russia's military expansion, the United States must step in directly. Trump has urged European countries to back the United States, warning that if America does not move first, China or Russia will ultimately take Greenland. It is a "diplomacy of power" approach that seeks to justify a territorial purchase by leveraging security fears.
The United States moved beyond words and brandished concrete economic sanctions. The Trump administration on the 17th singled out eight European countries that expressed opposition to the U.S. plan to secure Greenland and warned of a tariff bomb. Starting on the 1st of next month, it plans to impose a 10% tariff on imports from those countries, and from June 1 to raise the tariff rate to as high as 25%. This is interpreted as a strong warning that even traditional European allies will face economic damage if they oppose U.S. national interests and territorial expansion plans.
Greenland has long drawn the attention of powers for its Arctic resource development rights and military strategic value. During his first term, Trump also explored purchasing Greenland, but the plan fell through after Denmark rejected it. If that was merely a real estate purchase proposal, this time the pressure is far greater, as he is invoking the security pretext of a Russian threat alongside the economic coercion of tariffs.