World📡 New York TimesBy Maya Tekeli, Lynsey Chutel and Amelia NierenbergSep 19, 2026👁 0 views

What Does Trump Want With Greenland?

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.

What Does Trump Want With Greenland?

President Trump insisted for months that the Danish territory should be part of the United States. Now, a security deal — not a takeover — seems to be on the table.

Listen · 6:03 min
Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, last year. Polls have indicated that a vast majority of Greenlanders do not want to join the United States.Credit...Sigga Ella for The New York Times

By Maya TekeliLynsey Chutel and Amelia Nierenberg

Maya Tekeli reported from Copenhagen.

Sept. 19, 2026

After months of threats, retorts and closed-door negotiations, the United States has reached a deal to expand its security presence in Greenland, the semiautonomous Danish territory, according to President Trump.

The specifics of the agreement, announced on Friday, were not immediately made public. But it clearly falls short of the outright American takeover that Mr. Trump had demanded, a threat that roiled the NATO alliance, of which Denmark is a member.

In a social media post, Mr. Trump said the deal gave the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in Greenland. But the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, stressed that the agreement “recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Denmark.

Mr. Trump had said since his first term that the United States wanted to acquire Greenland, and he became more insistent about it after returning to office last year. One of his aides said Mr. Trump wanted to buy the island, and another suggested that the United States could simply take it by force.

The leaders of Greenland and Denmark rejected such ideas, and European leaders grappled with how to respond to the threat to seize territory from a NATO ally. In the end, negotiators from the United States, Greenland and Denmark met in Washington for high-stakes talks.

Here’s what you need to know:

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

    Supported by

    SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

    Advertisement

    SKIP ADVERTISEMENT