The high-level meeting between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland is scheduled to take place at the White House on Wednesday. President Trump once again took to social media hours before the meeting to address NATO directly, reaffirming the necessity and importance of taking over Greenland.
Trump posted on “Truth Social”, framing the Greenland issue as a bottom line for US national security. He wrote, “For national security, the United States needs Greenland. This is vital to the ‘Golden Dome’ we are constructing.”
He further pressured NATO allies, stating, “If Greenland is in US hands, NATO will become much stronger and more effective than it is now. Anything less than that is unacceptable.” He then named China and Russia, warning NATO that Denmark’s strength is insufficient to counter the threats posed by them.
“NATO: Tell Denmark now to send them (China and Russia) packing! Two dogsleds are useless! Only the United States can do it!!!”
As the dispute over Greenland heats up, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt sought dialogue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. However, US Vice President JD Vance later announced that he would personally chair the meeting at the White House on Wednesday.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Vance personally flew to the US military’s Pituffik Space Base in Greenland in March 2025 for inspection. He bluntly stated on-site that in the face of China and Russia’s expansion in the Arctic, ally Denmark’s investment in the island’s security and infrastructure was inadequate, emphasizing that “the US must take action.”
Within the White House, Vance is seen as the CEO of the “Greenland Takeover Plan”. The “Arctic Sovereignty Task Force” he leads is actively researching ownership change strategies, which include not only traditional direct purchase but also advocating for Greenland to sign a “Compact of Free Association” (COFA) akin to countries like Micronesia, and not ruling out the use of special clauses from the “Greenland Treaty” or other more forceful legal means.
Signed in 1951, the “Greenland Treaty,” formally known as the “Agreement on Greenland Defense,” grants the US military the right to establish defense zones in Greenland, such as the Pituffik base. While the treaty recognizes Danish sovereignty, the Trump administration is studying its legal loopholes and argues that if Denmark is unable to fulfill its protection obligations, the US can take over relevant defense and administrative rights under the NATO framework.
The “Golden Dome” project mentioned in Trump’s post is a core defense project for his second term. It is a global missile defense network modeled after Israel’s “Iron Dome” system but on a larger scale, with an estimated cost of $175 billion.
The project aims to deploy 400 to 1,000 surveillance satellites in space and hundreds of attack satellites with interception capabilities. Given Greenland’s proximity to Arctic shipping lanes, the world’s largest island is seen as the “first observation post” for intercepting China and Russia’s intercontinental missiles and hypersonic weapons.
Faced with US pressure, Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt emphasized in a joint statement with the Danish Foreign Minister on January 13 that Greenland is “part of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
“Greenland is not a commodity for sale; the Greenlandic people have the right to self-determination,” the statement said.
Denmark hopes that through this meeting, the crisis can be alleviated, avoiding a complete breakdown in bilateral relations and even within the NATO alliance.