Trump wants Greenland at any cost

Saturday, January 10th 2026 - 10:24 UTC

Full article 6 comments

US President Donald Trump insisted on Friday that his administration needed to take effective control of Greenland because otherwise Moscow or Beijing would do it. “By hook or by crook,” Washington needs to prevent it from falling under the influence of Russia or China, Trump explained to reporters at the White House. Read full article

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Veteran
There is a problem. Trump cannot be seen to back down if he is to retain support amongst his MAGA voting base. Most of Europe has declared annexation of Greenland by another state as a hostile act and a potential red-line. It may pay to declare the existing US. facility as U.S. Sovereign Base Territory, and allow them (the U.S.) to develop additional support facilities as required. I believe this would likely avert invasion, but would still cause fracture lines in NATO, which will encourage Putin.

The UK needs at least 4 years to regain a modicum of military capability. Likewise Europe. so we are playing for time here as we face this new threat from the West. Unsettling times for us all.
Jan 10th, 2026 - 11:45 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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FortHay
The hubris is beyond belief. The US once offered to purchase the Danish caribbean islands (Virgin Islands), but the offer was rejected at first, but eventually negotiated as part of WW1 geopolitical moves. Under the Treaty of the Danish West Indies the US acknowledged Danish control of Greenland and now the US acts to abrogate our contract and ignore the will and wishes of the resident population, akin to the treatment of the Chagossians of Diego Garcia. I am currently with visitors from Iceland and they report extreme alarm regarding this posturing and they declare that the very existence of NATO is indeed in peril. A unilateral, especially martial, takeover may very well result in a significant degradation of US North Atlantic security in the long term.
Jan 10th, 2026 - 12:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Pugol-H
Even if they can ‘do a deal’ over this, Europe and Canada now know exactly what they are dealing with in Trump and that the NATO treaty isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

The US is rapidly turning friends into countries hostile to the US, which won’t bother Trump but will affect the US going forward, isolation always has a cost.

Veteran
Agreed, this is now about buying time whilst rebuilding military capabilities, without using any new US kit. We are in a new reality, a post Pax Americana world.
Jan 10th, 2026 - 03:53 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Shogun
Trump again using lies to justify his actions, if he goes the hard way it will probably result in the end of Nato or at least a much reduced Nato

https://youtu.be/2zpECHwNiJw?si=erwm-ok8wv-aUKpu
Jan 10th, 2026 - 06:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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MarkWhelan
Oh not “AT ANY PRICE”
If a condition of 'transfer of power was to include that Donald Trump was to stand down as president, or hold any political office in the future” then the offer would be rejected out of hand, and the military option would be enacted.
Jan 11th, 2026 - 01:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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imoyaro
”...Donald Trump was to stand down as president, or hold any political office in the future...”

At this point, a majority of voters would go along with that.
Jan 11th, 2026 - 03:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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