Trump says US will do something on Greenland 'whether they like it or not' [View all]

Source: ABC News

January 9, 2026, 6:28 PM


President Donald Trump on Friday continued to press for U.S. control of Greenland, telling reporters: "We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not." "Because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor," Trump said as he hosted oil executives at the White House to discuss investments in Venezuela.

The president has repeatedly said he wants to take over Greenland either by buying the autonomous island territory or by using military force, calling it a matter of national security despite fierce pushback from Greenland, Denmark and European allies. US military is 'always an option' for Trump to acquire Greenland, White House official says

"Greenland is not for sale. I think our Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and our Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt has made it very, very clear. Our country belongs to the Greenlandic people," Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland’s head of representation to the United States, said to journalists on Thursday after a closed-door meeting with members of Congress.

When asked on Friday for how much money he believed it would take to get Greenland on board with his proposal, Trump said, "I'm not talking about money for Greenland yet. I might talk about that." "I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way," Trump said.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-us-greenland/story?id=129069483