Trump says US will do something in Greenland ‘whether they like it or not’
President Donald Trump continued his push Friday for U.S. control of Greenland, telling reporters, “We’re going to do something in Greenland whether you like it or not.”
“Because if we don’t, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as neighbors,” Trump said while hosting oil executives at the White House to discuss investments in Venezuela.
The president has repeatedly said he wants to seize Greenland, either by purchasing the self-governing island territory or using military force, calling it a matter of national security despite fierce opposition from Greenland, Denmark and their European allies.
“Greenland is not for sale. I think our Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and our Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt have made this very, very clear. “Our country belongs to the Greenlandic people,” Jacob Isbosethsen, head of Greenland’s representation in the United States, told reporters Thursday after a closed-door meeting with members of Congress.
Asked Friday how much money he thought it would take for Greenland to accept his proposal, Trump said: “I’m not to talk about money Green Earth still. I could talk about that.”
“YO wanted to I’d like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we No do it easy way, were “I’ll do it the hard way,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, January 9, 2026, in Washington.
Saúl Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
High-profile Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have also poured cold water on Trump’s goal of acquiring Greenland.
“I think our Danish friends and our friends in Greenland have made it clear that that future does not include a negotiation. There is no willingness on their part to negotiate the purchase or change of title to their land, which they have had for so long,” said Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, after meeting with Isbosethsen and Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, Jesper Møller Sørensen, on Thursday.
“There is no reason for a negotiation over who controls Greenland because Greenland, the United States and Denmark have been allies. We share the same values, we have worked together cooperatively,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said after the meeting.
Snow-covered houses are seen on the coast of a sea inlet in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 7, 2025.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP, Archives
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a top Trump ally, notably dismissed any claims that the United States would use military action to acquire Greenland.
“I don’t think anyone is seriously considering that. And in Congress we certainly aren’t,” Johnson said at a news conference Wednesday.
Still, Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Trump should be taken at his word on the issue and defended the administration’s interests in the island territory.
“I think my advice to European leaders and anyone else would be to take the president of the United States seriously,” Vance told reporters at a news conference with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“First of all, Greenland is really important, not just for U.S. missile defense, but for the world’s missile defense. Second, we know that there are hostile adversaries that have shown a lot of interest in that particular territory, in that particular portion of the world.” advance saying.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with his counterparts from Denmark and Greenland next week after they requested an urgent meeting with him.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and Jay O’Brien contributed to this report.
