“I would like to make a deal, you. Know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”
Trump’s one strategy is the easy way. That is, buying Greenland or sugarcoating an offer to the Greenlanders so that they want to become Americans. Greenland is not for sale, the Danish government is clear about that. Greenland’s five political parties are completely opposed to annexation. The party leaders jointly say ”we do not want to be Americans, nor Danes, we are Greenlanders”.
Opinion polls show massive opposition to annexation. 85% are against, only 6% are for. But the union with Denmark is needed after all. For skills, welfare and security (NATO). Not least the economy with access to the EU and just over four Danish billion DKK to the treasury every year. Danish money makes up half of public income, with around 75 thousand Danish kroner per capita.
Trump sugarcoats public subsidies?
There have been rumors of 10-100 thousand dollars for each Greenlander if they allow themselves to be sold to the USA. Promise of roads and jobs. Study at Harvard. Arguments that Greenlanders hardly buy, not at first glance. 50 of the 56 thousand who live in Greenland consider themselves Inuit, with their own language and culture. The Inuit in Alaska have a slightly higher standard of living, largely thanks to the oil resources. But wealth is unevenly distributed, with poorer public health and shorter life expectancy. As a minority, the Alaskan Inuit have less political influence apart from local self-determination in tribal areas.
Trump’s election campaigns have been effective on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Truth Social). Can that skill convince young Greenlanders to become Americans? Hardly likely. In any case, the process would take several years, far too long to fit into Trump’s strategy.
The hard way remains, militarily
”We’re going to see what happens. We need Greenland for national security.” Så kommenterade Trump mötet 14 januari 2026 utrikesministermötet mellan Danmark/Grönland och USA hos vice president Vance. ”If we don’t go in, Russia’s going to go in and China is going to go in. And there’s another thing that Denmark can do about it, but we can do everything about it.”
Hours after the foreign ministers’ meeting, a plane carrying about a hundred soldiers from Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain and Sweden, among others, lands at Nuuk Air Port. Officially to prepare for the Operation Arctic exercise. Unofficially as moral support and as a stumbling block against attackers.
”Do you know what Denmark did recently to increase security on Greenland? They sent a dog sled there. That’s true.” Trump mocks. The president is referring to the mythical Sirius Patrol . An elite force with about ten dog sleds patrols northeastern Greenland, armed as protection from polar bears.
The rest of the island lacks Danish defense? 130 desk soldiers without weapons are at the Artic Nordic Command in Nuuk. However, military exercises in and around Greenland take place every year, on a larger scale since 2025–2026. In addition to Nuuk, large transport planes can fly to the former American air bases Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq. Supplies are there and also on the navy ships that inspect the coasts. If Danish F-16s refuel in the air or on Iceland, it does not take many hours before they are in Greenland.
Occupation?
A scenario that is conceivable for Greenland militarily. But not politically. Is Greenland open to an American surprise attack, like in Caracas? With transport planes with elite soldiers, who land in Nuuk and arrest the government – without a shot being fired? Unless some Danish platoons blow up the runways like when a couple of hundred Ukrainian soldiers stopped a Russian air landing at Kiev airport in 2022.
Trump justified the attack on Caracas by claiming that the United States was acting against “narco-terrorism” and that the capture of Nicolás Maduro was part of a law enforcement operation, not a war. Legal experts questioned this justification, calling it illegal under both the UN Charter and the US Constitution.
US-ÖB obliged to refuse Trump order
The UN Charter prohibits wars of aggression, territorial conquest, and military coercion against another state. The same applies to international law. It is also a violation of the NATO Treaty.
A US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff must refuse an unlawful order from the President, such as the military annexation of Greenland. US military personnel are required to refuse unlawful orders under both the US Constitution, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and international law. Trump can fire a refusing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and appoint a more willing general. Every action is subject to judicial review, a mindset inherited from the war crimes trials at Nuremberg.
Congress
A military annexation of Greenland is by definition a war. According to Article I, Section 8, it is Congress, not the president, that decides on war. To approve a war, a simple majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate is required. Applies not only to territorial conquest but also to military coercion, such as blockade.
A takeover of Greenland as Trump puts it is a violation of the UN Charter, international law and NATO rules. Donald Trump cannot obtain any legal approval whatsoever to militarily annex Greenland. A military annexation of another country’s territory is prohibited under both US law and international law.
The relationship between the president and Congress on matters of war is regulated in the Constitution and in law, primarily the War Powers Resolution (1973, with experience from the Vietnam War). In short: the president can initiate limited military actions, but prolonged or major war actions require congressional approval and funding.
Approval requires a simple majority in both houses of Congress. To stop a declaration of war, the Democrats need a majority in both, i.e. at least 4 Republicans in the Senate (for 51 D+4R against 49 R) and 3 Republicans in the House of Representatives (for 218 D+3R against 217 R). About 80% of Americans say no to Trump’s plan to take over Greenland, according to opinion polls.
This is what Trump gets:
He can activate war without consulting Congress if the United States is attacked or there is a risk to its citizens. The argument that Russia and China threaten Greenland and thus the United States hardly holds. In that case, if personnel are threatened at the American Thule base.
If the war is limited, the president has some freedom to act. With a generous interpretation, this could apply if a small force of troops lands in Luuk. Perhaps to put politicians under house arrest and raise the American flag.
But Trump must then report this to Congress within two days. And without its approval, end the military action within 2-3 months. This means that the goal of annexing Greenland falls.
/ By Ingemar Lindmark