Why does Trump want Greenland and why is it so important?

By Issy Ronald, CNN

(CNN) — When US forces struck the Venezuelan capital and ousted the country’s president Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, it turned one of President Donald Trump’s rhetorical threats into reality.

In the days since, his frequent musings about other items on his foreign policy wishlist have rung with renewed force, especially his repeated desire for the US to take over Greenland – the vast autonomous Arctic territory ruled by Denmark.

In the wake of such a brazen display of US military power in Venezuela, this rhetoric has taken on a different character, straining Washington’s relationship with its NATO ally.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reiterated Monday that she had already “made it very clear where the Kingdom of Denmark stands, and that Greenland has repeatedly said that it does not want to be part of the United States.”

She even warned that it could lead to the demise of the NATO alliance.

So why might Trump keep turning his attention to this remote, sparsely populated island – and why is it causing tensions with Europe?

Here’s what you need to know.

What is Greenland like?

Greenland, a resource-rich island of 836,000 square miles (2.16 million square kilometers), is a former Danish colony and now an autonomous territory of Denmark, situated in the Arctic.

It’s the world’s least densely populated country and most of it is under ice. Its 56,000 residents travel by boat, helicopter and plane between the island’s towns, which are predominantly scattered along the western coast. The capital Nuuk is emblematic of those towns, featuring brightly-colored houses crowded together between a jagged coastline and inland mountains.

Outside the towns, Greenland is mostly wilderness with 81% of its land under ice. Nearly 90% of its population is of Inuit origin and its economy has long revolved around fishing.

Why is it so important strategically?

Three interconnected factors, accentuated by the climate crisis, make Greenland such an important strategic region – its geopolitical position, its natural resources and the potential northern shipping routes around it.

Greenland lies between the US and Europe and astride the so-called GIUK gap – a maritime passage between Greenland, Iceland and the UK that links the Arctic to the Atlantic Ocean. This location makes it essential for controlling access to the North Atlantic, for both trade and security.

Its rich natural resources, including oil, gas and rare earth minerals, add to its strategic importance, as China leverages its domination of the rare earth industry to exert pressure on the US. These minerals are crucial to the global economy since they are required to manufacture everything from electric cars and wind turbines to military equipment.

Greenland’s trove of minerals may become more accessible as the climate crisis melts Arctic ice, but actually mining them is likely to prove difficult, given the mountainous terrain, lack of infrastructure and environmental regulations in place.

The melting ice also makes northern shipping routes navigable for more of the year, with implications for both trade and security.

Trump has downplayed the significance of Greenland’s natural resources, telling reporters last month: “We need Greenland for national security, not for minerals.”

But his former national security adviser Mike Waltz suggested in January 2024 that Trump’s focus was on natural resources, telling Fox News that the administration’s focus on Greenland was “about critical minerals” and “natural resources.”

All this means that the US, China and Russia are now tussling over the Arctic region as the climate crisis changes its geography.

More than a quarter of Russia’s territory is in the Arctic so Moscow has always seen the region as vital to its defense. In recent years China has entered the fray, declaring itself to be a “near-Arctic state” in 2018, and pursing the objective of “a polar silk road” for Arctic shipping.

What does Venezuela have to do with it?

The day after US forces snatched Maduro from his home, Trump repeated that the US needs Greenland “from the standpoint of national security.”

“Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday despite at first saying he didn’t want to talk about it. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

Doubling down on Tuesday, the White House said it is “discussing a range of options” to acquire Greenland and that using the US military is not off the table.

However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed the possibility of military intervention in the short term when he told lawmakers this week that the Trump administration is considering buying Greenland, according to two sources familiar with the discussion.

What has Trump said before?

Trump inquired about the possibility of buying Greenland during his first term and, despite being told by the island that “Greenland is not for sale,” he revived those calls in December 2024, saying in a social media post: “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Vice President JD Vance traveled to the island in March 2025 where he said it was “the policy of the United States” to see changes to the island’s Danish leadership but acknowledged that Greenlanders should decide their future.

Polling in Greenland shows clear opposition to becoming part of the US.

What was the US presence there historically?

The US already has a security foothold in Greenland, a legacy of the Cold War when the territory’s proximity to Russia made it an essential monitoring post in the event of a missile attack.

It signed a defense agreement with Denmark in 1951, allowing it to station troops at a military base which is still used, though on a much smaller scale.

Before that, the US tried several times to buy Greenland, most recently in 1946.

What does this mean for NATO?

If the US uses military action to seize Greenland – something Trump has pointedly refused to rule out – it could fracture the NATO alliance.

Frederiksen said Monday that “if the US chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of World War II.”

On Tuesday, leaders from major European powers expressed support for Denmark and Greenland, adding that Arctic security must be upheld collectively with NATO allies, including the US.

“Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain and Denmark said in a joint statement.

“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up.”

What do Greenlanders think?

Trump’s frequent posturing about Greenland strikes right at the heart of the territory’s politics, which have long been shaped by Denmark’s colonial legacy.

It was incorporated into Denmark in 1953 as a tide of decolonization swept the globe following World War II, then granted home rule in 1979. In 2009 it achieved self-government, but its foreign, security, defense and monetary policy are all still controlled by Denmark.

Greenland’s politicians have promised to take steps towards independence, but have not offered a concrete timeline. While not all Greenlanders want independence from Denmark, few want to trade Danish for US leadership.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called the US’s rhetoric “completely unacceptable.”

“When the President of the United States speaks of ‘needing Greenland’ and links us to Venezuela and military intervention, it is not just wrong. It is disrespectful,” he said in a statement.

“No more fantasies of annexation,” Nielsen added. “We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But they must take place through the proper channels and in respect of international law … Greenland is our home and our territory. And it will remain so.”

Kuno Fencker, a member of parliament for the more pro-US opposition Naleraq party, some of Trump’s comments have been “received quite well.”

“If he says Greenland has the right to self-determination or they could join the United States, it’s a big offer from the United States president,” Fencker told CNN.

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CNN’s Laura Paddison, Matthew Chance, Lauren Kent, Kit Maher, Kylie Atwood, Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak and Betsy Klein contributed reporting.