Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

A lot of confusion was swirling in Denmark and Greenland after President Trump’s bombshell of a post on social media.

People walking past a large mural in Nuuk, Greenland, on Wednesday.Credit...Jonathan Nackstrand/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Jan. 21, 2026, 6:09 p.m. ET

Some Greenlanders and Danes expressed relief and even hope after President Trump suddenly signaled on Wednesday night that a solution had been reached with NATO that would avoid a confrontation over Greenland. But some Greenlandic politicians said it was wrong that they had not been involved in the talks.

In his speech in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Trump said he would not use force to acquire Greenland. Later he wrote in a post on social media that he had “a very productive meeting” with the head of NATO and “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.”

Greenland has been part of the Danish Kingdom for more than 300 years and Danish commentators were buoyed by the developments even though the details about the deal had not been revealed.

“It looks more promising than anything I have seen in weeks,” said Mikkel Runge Olesen, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen.

“It is certainly a decisive new development,” he said. “The Danish reactions right now are cautiously optimistic. I think people are holding back because of how quickly a seemingly positive development has come to nothing before.”

But Aaja Chemnitz, one of the two Greenlandic members of the Danish parliament and a major political figure in Greenland, rejected what Mr. Trump said about the “future deal” with NATO.

“What we are witnessing these days in statements from Trump is completely absurd,” she said in a post that appeared on Facebook. “NATO has absolutely no mandate to negotiate anything whatsoever without us in Greenland.”

“Nothing about us, without us,” she said. “There is total confusion being created.”

In the speech earlier in the day at the World Economic Forum, Mr. Trump kept up his insistence that the United States should take over the island, and he provided a curious history lesson. He said that after the Germans invaded Denmark in 1940, the United States rushed in to defend Greenland. That part is true.

But what isn’t was Mr. Trump’s insistence that after the war, the United States somehow “gave it back.”

That’s not true at all.

Image

President Trump addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

Denmark never relinquished sovereignty of the island, the largest in the world. Instead, the Danish ambassador in Washington, cut off from Copenhagen, took it upon himself to strike a defense agreement for Greenland that allowed American forces access to defend it. The expectation was that Denmark would regain control of the island after the war, which it did.

That initial agreement, made in 1941, paved the way for a sweeping Danish-American defense pact 10 years later that most analysts and European officials, especially the Danes, say is robust enough for Mr. Trump to accomplish his security goals. In his speech, he reiterated his argument that the only way to protect Greenland is for the United States to own it.

He talked about his plan for a “golden dome” missile defense program that would necessitate American control of Greenland. He even spent a little time explaining that Greenland’s glittering minerals, which he acknowledged were buried under “hundreds of feet of ice,” weren’t the real attraction, but that it was all about security, security, security.

The speech was carried live on TV in Greenland.

Anso Lauritzen, the owner of sled dog center in western Greenland, said, “I couldn’t help myself — I had to watch.” Her impression was that the speech was headed in the right direction, at first.

“But then he just keeps talking,” Ms. Lauritzen said about Mr. Trump. “We really don’t know what he’s thinking.”

“I don’t want to be part of America,” she added on Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t want to follow their rules.”

But by night, after reading Mr. Trump’s new comment, she said, “Is he acting alone? We’re trying to read all the media, but we can’t see what it’s about. What do you think they’ve agreed on? That’s all I want to know.”

Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Wednesday that the day ended better than it began.

“This morning we had a president who would not rule out taking Greenland by force. Now he says he will not take Greenland by force,” Mr. Rasmussen told Danish television channel, TV 2.

Mr. Rasmussen said he had spoken briefly with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and would receive a more detailed briefing on the meeting later.

Following the conversation, the use of force is off the table, Mr. Rasmussen said.

“That creates a small sliver of hope,” he said.

Greenland’s government said it would comment on Mr. Trump’s remarks on Thursday.

Kuno Fencker, a member of the Greenlandic parliament who has been open to a closer relationship with the United States, said he was upset that all these talks were going on between Mr. Trump and NATO about Greenland but without Greenland’s input.

“Greenland should be directly involved in what is going on,” he said. “That is what we want.”

Jeffrey Gettleman and Amelia Nierenberg reported from London and Maya Tekeli from Copenhagen. Michael Schwirtz contributed reporting from London.

Jeffrey Gettleman is an international correspondent based in London covering global events. He has worked for The Times for more than 20 years.

Amelia Nierenberg is a Times reporter covering international news from London.

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT