U.S. President Donald Trump, earlier this year, appeared to back down from his push for Greenland to become part of the United States. But after arriving in Ankara, Turkey on Tuesday, July 7, Trump appeared determined to reopen that old wound by reiterating his ideas for Greenland.
On X, Financial Times’ Amy Mackinnon reported, “Two hours since he touched down in Ankara for the Nato summit and Trump has reiterated that he believes Greenland ‘should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark.’ He went on to say that the US could remove ‘all of our soldiers out of Europe,’ claiming that the continent is ‘a very different place than it was 20 years ago.'”
Trump’s desire for Greenland to become part of the United States is a sore spot for other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) — especially Denmark.
After Trump, earlier this year, called for the U.S. to annex the Arctic island of Greenland — a colony of Denmark — other NATO countries made it clear that they were vehemently opposed to the idea. Mette Frederiksen emphasized that Greenland and Europe would decide the island’s future, not Trump.
In January, Trump wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the U.S. military taking Greenland by force, saying that the U.S. would acquire Greenland either the easy way or “the hard way” and that the annexation would happen “whether they like it or not.” And Danish broadcaster DR reported that Denmark was quietly making preparations to protect Greenland militarily.
DR, in March, reported, “With the Greenland crisis, Europe realized once and for all that we need to be able to take care of our own security, says a top French official who has played a crucial role in the intense months and critical days of the Greenland crisis.”
NATO officials warned that if the U.S. did try to take Greenland by force, it would mean the end of the 77-year-old alliance.
Trump seemed to back down from his threats against Greenland, but he continued to bring up the subject at times.
The 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara comes at a time when other NATO countries are not only troubled by Trump’s threats against Greenland, but also, by the way he has handled the United States’ war against Iran.
After going to war against Iran in late February and carrying out airstrikes against the country, Trump berated other NATO countries for not doing more to help him with the military operation.