Donald Trump threatens Greenland action ‘whether they like it or not’

'If we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way.'

It's pretty clear to most of the world now that US President Donald Trump is hellbent on getting his mitts on Greenland, and he's made no secret of it either.

Since returning to office at the start of 2025, Donald Trump has been pressing for the acquisition of the icy territory.

Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that the US “needs” Greenland for “national security”.

This is the main narrative behind the threats that, by acquiring the territory, the US could expand military operations in the name of fending off Russia and China.

The US president claimed that “Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place”.

However, the Danish foreign minister has already refuted this claim, while there are no recorded reports of Chinese or Russian vessels in Greenland's waters since 2017 when a Chinese ice breaker entered waters near Nuuk.

The last Russian ship to be publicly known to have entered Greenland's waters was the Russian 'research' vessel Yantar back in 2017, which the UK considers a spy ship.

Greenland is, of course, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, which also includes the Faroe Islands.

Many people believe the real reason Trump wants Greenland is for its resources which include rare earth minerals, uranium, iron, zinc, lead, gold, copper, and potentially oil.

Speaking to the media at the White House in a conference about his next steps in Venezuela, Trump also brought back up the subject of Greenland, all whilst wearing a badge of himself on his blazer.

He said: "We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not because if we don’t, Russia or China will take over Greenland. And we are not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour.

"I’d like to do a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re gonna do it the hard way."

Despite being a "big fan of Denmark", Trump refuted Denmark's historic claims to the land.

He said: "I’m a big fan, but the fact they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land."

Whilst the Danish colonised Greenland in the 18th century, it is believed the indigenous people arrived on the island around 2,500 BC.

Greenland gained 'home rule' in 1979 and controls many of its own matters and has a distinct language and culture from Denmark.

For now the US has emphasised that they would like to purchase the island, however, the White House has not ruled out "military options".

While Denmark, and Greenland’s people, have said the island is not for sale to the Americans, the Trump administration has said it could use the US military or make a deal to purchase it.

Trump was also asked about the lapel badge he was wearing, which he described as a "Happy Trump" which someone gave him.

He said: "That’s called a ‘Happy Trump’ — and considering the fact that I’m never happy… I’m never satisfied — I will never be satisfied until we Make America Great Again!"