On Friday, Greenland’s government announced a deal for a coalition between Greenland’s Democrats and other parties.
Trump’s obsession with the strategic, mineral-rich island has grown stronger in the past weeks. He made the issue a top national security priority, and told journalists on Friday that “we have to have” the territory to secure the U.S.’s position in the Arctic.
The U.S. president’s comments come after a week of diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and Denmark, and on the heels of U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Greenland.
Speaking from the U.S.’s Pituffik Space Base on Greenland’s northeastern coast on Friday, Vance said military intervention would not be needed if Greenlanders decide to break from Copenhagen and “cut a deal” with Washington.
Vance also slammed Denmark, saying it hadn’t done a good job for the people of Greenland. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen replied by releasing a video decrying the U.S. vice president’s trip as disrespectful and criticizing his “tone.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she would visit the island in the coming days to strengthen cooperation between Greenland and Denmark. Unlike Vance, she will meet with government representatives and local residents.
