CNN
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President Donald Trump updated his threat to use military force to annex Greenland, and in an NBC news interview he said he would not rule it out to make Danish autonomous territory part of the United States.
This is the latest in many comments by Trump on seizing control over a resource-rich island, and he argues what the US needs for national security purposes.
“I won’t rule that out,” he told NBC News’ Kristen Welker in an interview that aired Sunday. “I’m not saying I’m going to do that, but I won’t rule out anything.”
“We need Greenland very badly,” Trump said. “Greenland is a very small number of people, we take care of them. And we take care of them. That’s all. But it’s necessary for international security.”
He doubted that it would happen, but added that the possibility is “certainly” there.
Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in buying the island or taking it by the US either by forced or economic coercion, even if NATO Ally Denmark and Greenland firmly reject the idea.
There are several factors that will make it interesting. Greenland holds a unique geopolitical position sitting between the US and Europe, and could help fight off potential attacks from Russia, experts say. It is also part of the Kingdom Gap, a strategic maritime region along the main shipping lanes and is a unified marine region.
But experts also suspect Trump is turning to other aspects of Greenland. It could become more accessible as climate change melts territorial ice, such as a herd of natural resources. These include oil and gas, as well as rare earth metals in high demand for electric vehicles, wind turbines and military equipment.
Since Trump began speaking out about his presidency plans in December, his desire to annex Greenland has raised questions about the island’s future security as the US, Russia and China are seeking influence in the Arctic Circle.
However, Greenland pushed back hard.
“President Trump says the US will acquire Greenland.” Let’s be clear. The United States does not belong to anyone else.
Greenland is not the only sovereign territory, Trump has his point of view. The president repeatedly threatened to annex Canada, turning it into the “51st state” of the United States, worsening relations between the two long-standing allies.
Last week, Canada’s liberals were forced to win the federal election, with Prime Minister Mark Carney riding a wave of anti-Trump sentiment and using his victory speech to declare that Canada would never “never” give to the United States.
In an interview with NBC on Sunday, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” to use military force in his appendix to Canada.
“I haven’t seen it with Canada. I’m not seeing it, I have to be honest with you,” he said.
He spoke on the phone with Carney after winning the election, adding that he called the Canadian leader “a very nice guy.” Trump was blessing Carney, but they didn’t discuss the threat of Canada’s annexation, he said.
Kearney is scheduled to visit Trump in Washington on Tuesday. When asked if the topic would appear during that visit, Trump replied: “I always talk about it.”
If Canada is a province, “it would be great,” Trump added. “It will become a precious state.”
