The White House stated on Tuesday that deploying the U.S. military remains “always an option” in pursuit of acquiring Greenland, even as European leaders swiftly rejected President Donald Trump’s renewed push for the United States to take over the world’s largest island.
Trump has publicly floated the idea of purchasing Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, since his first term. This weekend, following U.S. military action in Venezuela, he revived the proposal, citing strategic imperatives in the Arctic.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal.”
The explicit mention of a military option—coupled with the recent operation in Venezuela—marks a sharp escalation in rhetoric around a proposal long dismissed by Denmark as “absurd.”
By James Kisoo
