U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a meeting with oil industry executives at the White House in Washington, U.S., Jan. 9, 2026.
Kevin Lamarck | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Friday, his administration said it would take action Greenland “Whether they like it or not,” he continued to amplify his rhetoric. Danish territory For the US
“I want 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 told reporters at the White House.
The comments were made during a meeting with oil executives to discuss business prospects Venezuela. Less than a week ago, the US military invaded the oil-rich South American country and captured its leader Nicolas Maduro.
Trump has long sought to seize Greenland, primarily citing the Arctic island’s importance to US national security.
Denmark and its European allies in NATO – the military alliance co-founded by the US – followed suit and backed down. Greenland is not for sale. But the Trump administration says it is now considering many options in Greenland, including its use US military or breaking the deal to buy it from Denmark.
Government officials have also considered sending Greenlanders a lump sum of money to encourage them to join the United States. Reuters reported on Thursday.
Asked on Friday how much those payments might be, Trump said: “I’m not talking about money for Greenland yet.”
“I might say this, but right now we’re going to do something in Greenland whether they like it or not,” Trump said.
“Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we won’t have Russia or China as neighbors,” he said.
While Trump is a “big fan” of Denmark, “just because they had boat land 500 years ago doesn’t mean they own it. (I’m) sure we had many boats going there too.
“So we’re going to do something better or harder with Greenland,” he said.
The US military already maintains a base in Greenland and it reported if necessary, there is an opportunity to expand participation.
But that’s not enough, Trump said.
“When we own property, we protect it. You don’t protect a rental the same way, you have to own it,” he said.