Trump Intensifies Greenland Dispute With Allies

European allies of the United States pushed back strongly on Monday as President Donald Trump escalated his campaign to take control of Greenland, drawing sharp criticism over what they described as tariff threats amounting to political pressure. The dispute deepened after Trump appeared to suggest that the decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize had altered his outlook on peace, while also hinting again at the possible use of military force.

In a message sent to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and shared among NATO allies, Trump said that because the prize was given to someone else, he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace” and could instead focus on “what is good and proper for the United States of America.” He went on to restate his demand for full U.S. control of Greenland, arguing that only American ownership could prevent the strategically located Arctic territory from falling under Chinese or Russian influence.

Speaking later to reporters at Palm Beach International Airport, Trump downplayed the Nobel issue, saying he did not care about the prize, while insisting Norway controls its outcome. “If anybody thinks that Norway doesn’t – doesn’t control the Nobel prize, they’re just kidding… And I don’t care what Norway says. But I really don’t care about that. What I care about is saving lives. And I think I’ve saved tens of millions of lives,” he said.

Trump also predicted European leaders would soften their stance during discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. “I don’t think they’re going to push back too much,” he said. “Look, we have to have it, they have to have this done. They can’t protect it.”

In a post on Truth Social early Tuesday, Trump said he “had a very good telephone call with Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, concerning Greenland,” adding that a meeting had been agreed in Davos. He reiterated that “Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back, On that, everyone agrees!” The president also shared an image portraying Greenland as a U.S. territory alongside Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

NATO allies and U.S. lawmakers from both parties have rejected Trump’s argument that U.S. ownership of Greenland is necessary for security. They point out that Greenland is already covered under NATO as a Danish territory, hosts a long-standing U.S. military presence dating back to World War II, and that Denmark has welcomed expanded defense cooperation rather than a transfer of sovereignty.

Despite these assurances, Trump repeated in his message to Norway’s leader that “the World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.” He claimed Denmark is unable to defend the territory from Russia or China, a position dismissed over the weekend by Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, who described such threats as fictitious.

Trump also questioned Denmark’s historical claim to Greenland, arguing that it rests on the fact that “a boat landed there hundreds of years ago,” while asserting that Americans had also landed there. In reality, Denmark established colonial control in the early 18th century, decades before the United States became an independent nation, and Greenland remained a Danish colony until gaining semi-autonomous status in 1953.

Although Greenland has a population of just about 60,000, it has its own elected government. Both its leaders and residents have repeatedly and publicly rejected becoming part of the United States, a stance reinforced by recent protests across the island and in Denmark.