Why Does Trump Want Greenland?

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Main Story
Why Does Trump Want Greenland?

• What’s Going On

  • The United States pays attention to Greenland because its location is strategically valuable.

  • Greenland’s Arctic location makes it central to U.S. and NATO interests, especially as ice melts and new shipping routes and resources open up. The U.S. also sees competition from China, which has tried to invest in Greenlandic infrastructure.

  • Arctic sea ice is melting at a rate of 12% per decade!

  • President Trump floated the idea of buying Greenland during both of his terms. Denmark responded with a hard no.

• A Quick Explainer

  • Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. It gained home rule in 1979 and expanded autonomy through the Self Rule Act in 2009.

  • It’s technically part of North America, not Europe — which is partly why the U.S. operates the Pituffik Space Base there.

  • It’s the world’s largest island (Australia doesn’t count; it's a continent).

  • Roughly 88% of its population are Inuit or of mixed Inuit and Danish descent, and there’s an ongoing movement for full independence from Denmark.

  • Talks of buying Greenland aren’t new — the U.S. tried in 1867 after purchasing Alaska from Russia, again in 1946 (offering $100 million), and most recently in 2019 under President Trump. Each time, Denmark — and now Greenland’s own government — firmly said no: “Greenland is not for sale.”

• What This Means For You

  • This story is about how geography and melting sea ice are reshaping global politics.

  • Greenland may be far away, but what happens there impacts international power dynamics, military strategy, Indigenous rights, and more.

  • As tensions rise in the Arctic, expect to hear more about Greenland in conversations about national security, energy independence, and Indigenous sovereignty.

  Quiz: Which continent is Greenland part of?

  Europe Asia North America Antarctica

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