Greenland leaders reject Trump’s offensive for control of the island: ‘We don’t want to be Americans’

View of houses in Nuuk, Greenland, on June 22, 2025 Kwiyeon Ha/AP Photo/File Greenland’s party leaders have rejected United States President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for Americans to take control of the island, saying the territory’s future should be decided by its own people. “We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” said Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four other party leaders in a statement released on Friday night (9). 📱Download the g1 app to see news in real time and for free Trump said again that he would like to close a deal to buy Greenland, a semi-autonomous region that is part of Denmark, a NATO ally, “the easy way”. According to him, if the US does not control the island, Russia or China will do so — and Washington does not want these countries as neighbors. “If we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said, without explaining what that would mean. The White House has said it is considering a range of options, including the use of military force, to acquire the territory. US interest in Greenland dates back to the 19th century: understand what’s behind it Party leaders reiterated that “the future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people”. “As Greenland’s political leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our desire for the United States’ disrespect for our country to cease,” the statement said. Authorities from Denmark, Greenland and the United States met on Thursday in Washington and are expected to meet again next week to discuss the White House’s new offensive for control of the island. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that a US takeover of Greenland would mean the end of NATO. Trump, on the other hand, said he was willing to sacrifice the military alliance to conquer the territory. According to the statement, “work on the future of Greenland takes place in dialogue with the Greenlandic people and is conducted on the basis of international law.” “No other country can interfere in this”, says the text. “We must decide the future of our country alone, without pressure for quick decisions, delays or interference from other countries.” The document was signed by Nielsen, Pele Broberg, Múte B. Egede, Aleqa Hammond and Aqqalu C. Jerimiassen. Although it is the largest island in the world, Greenland has around 57,000 inhabitants and does not have its own armed forces. Defense is the responsibility of Denmark, whose military power is much inferior to that of the United States. It is unclear how other NATO members would react if the US decided to take control of the island by force or whether they would provide support to Denmark. READ ALSO: How could Donald Trump ‘take’ Greenland? US interest in Greenland dates back to the 19th century: understand what’s behind it

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