Greenland. Photo: Dreamstime
Donald Trump warned on Sunday, a day after the military operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro, that other countries could be subject to US intervention.
“We absolutely need Greenland,” Donald Trump said of the island that is part of Denmark, a NATO country, in an interview with The Atlantic.
Trump described the island as “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.”
Trump was asked if the attack on Venezuela could indicate a willingness to take military action to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory within Denmark that has rejected America's territorial claims.
Trump responded that it was up to others to decide what US military action in Venezuela meant in the context of Greenland.
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“They're going to have to interpret for themselves. I honestly don't know,” Trump said. “But we need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense,” the US president continued.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a news conference with Trump on Saturday that the world should take note of the Venezuela operation: “When (Trump) tells you he's going to do something, when he tells you he's going to solve a problem, he really means it,” Rubio said.
Trump's plans for Greenland
Trump has repeatedly said the US “needs” control of Greenland.
Just hours after the US military operation in Venezuela, right-wing podcaster Katie Miller – wife of Stephen Miller, Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff – posted a map of Greenland overlaid with the US flag on X, with the message: “COMING SOON”.
Denmark's ambassador to Washington, Jesper Møller Sørensen, responded to Miller's challenge with a “friendly reminder” of the two countries' historic military cooperation.
MAGA threat to Greenland after US attack in Venezuela: “Coming soon” and a map of Danish territory under the US flag. Denmark's reaction
Trump recently appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland. Landry, a former state attorney general, thanked Trump for his appointment in December 2025, saying it was “an honor to serve you in this voluntary capacity to make Greenland a part of the United States.”
Since taking office a year ago, Trump has rattled European allies with his stated plans for Greenland, considered strategically important for defense and as a future source of mineral wealth. It is home to the US's northernmost military base at Pituffik, which Trump's Vice President JD Vance visited in March.
The US president refused to rule out military action to gain control of the territory at a time when the US, China and Russia are vying for power in the Arctic, a prospect that has sparked condemnation and unrest on the island.
“I'm not ruling it out. I'm not saying I will, but I'm not ruling anything out. We really need Greenland,” Trump told US broadcaster NBC in May when asked about a possible takeover.
The vast majority of Greenland's 57,000 residents want to become independent from Denmark but do not want to become part of the US, according to a representative poll originally published in January 2025 and brought back to public attention by the current crisis. The territory has had the right to declare independence since 2009.
