White House discussing ‘options’ to acquire Greenland, says military use isn’t off the table

By Kit Maher, Kylie Atwood, CNN

(CNN) — The White House said Tuesday that President Donald Trump is “discussing a range of options” to acquire Greenland, making clear that using the US military is not off the table.

“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 Tuesday statement to CNN.

“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 statement comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers this week that the Trump administration is considering buying Greenland as he downplayed concerns about US military intervention in the short term, according to two sources familiar with the discussion.

The administration’s aspirations related to the resource-rich, self-governing territory of Denmark had not been publicly mentioned in recent months, but officials were still discussing the matter behind the scenes.

At the request of Rubio’s team, the State Department in recent months provided an analysis of the untapped resources in Greenland, including rare earths, according to a source familiar with the analysis. One conclusion was that there is no reliable study of how vast those resources may be. The assessment also said there would be tremendous cost in accessing the resources given the cold temperatures and lack of infrastructure, the source said.

Trump has been leaning into a more expansionist foreign policy — including a renewed interest in acquiring the Danish territory — in the days since the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

Senior White House aide Stephen Miller doubled down on the position Monday, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper that nobody would fight the US militarily “over the future of Greenland” and questioning the right of Denmark — a fellow NATO nation — to claim the territory.

The Trump administration’s renewed interest spurred a statement of support for Denmark from European leaders, who said Tuesday the Arctic island belongs to its people. The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain and Denmark said security in the Arctic must be achieved collectively with NATO allies, including the United States.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Monday that Trump’s desires should be “taken seriously,” warning that a US military attack on Greenland could effectively end NATO.

Greenland said Tuesday it has asked for a meeting with Rubio following the Trump administration’s recent statements.

Trump has long eyed Greenland, a resource-rich island of 836,000 square miles strategically located between the US, Europe and Russia. Its rich deposits of natural resources, including oil, gas and rare earth minerals, make it even more strategically important.

Shortly after winning the 2024 election, Trump revived his first-term offer to purchase Greenland, which was again rebuffed. Nearly exactly a year ago, he held a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in which he did not rule out military action to take control of Greenland.

During a speech to a joint session of Congress last March, Trump lobbed a threat at Greenland: “I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”

Later that month, Vice President JD Vance made a controversial visit to in Greenland, a trip its residents had resisted and its leaders said was unwelcome. “Our message to Denmark is very simple,” Vance said at the US’ Pituffik Space Base. “You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland.”

He repeatedly claimed the island was vulnerable and that the United States had “no other option” than to ramp up its presence there.

The administration’s renewed Greenland focus has brought criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, said he is introducing a resolution to prevent the US from invading Greenland. “Trump is telling us exactly what he wants to do. We must stop him before he invades another country on a whim,” Gallego said in a post on X.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, has urged the administration to “stop the stupid ‘we want Greenland BS’” and called on other Republicans to “universally oppose” any military action toward Greenland.

“This is appalling. Greenland is a NATO ally. We have a base on Greenland. We could put four or five bases on Greenland; they wouldn’t mind that,” Bacon told CNN’s Tapper on “The Lead” on Tuesday.

Referring to Denmark, Bacon added, “They are a proven ally, so the way we are treating them is really demeaning, and it has no upside.”

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, the co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, in a statement Tuesday reaffirmed the United States’ long-standing partnership with Denmark, an ally they said has “earned our unwavering respect.” They also highlighted how Denmark is “significantly increasing its defense spending and remains a critical partner in Arctic security.”

“Any suggestion that our nation would subject a fellow NATO ally to coercion or external pressure undermines the very principles of self-determination that our Alliance exists to defend,” the senators said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Manu Raju contributed to this report.

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