What are potential ‘hard ways’ Trump could try to take Greenland?

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Since taking the White House successful January past year, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that helium wants to annex Greenland “very badly,” with a scope of options connected the table, including a subject attack.

Amid absorption from Greenlandic lawmakers, Trump doubled down connected Friday, threatening that the United States is “going to bash thing [there] whether they similar it oregon not”.

“If we don’t bash it, Russia oregon China volition instrumentality implicit Greenland. And we’re not going to person Russia oregon China arsenic a neighbour,” Trump said astatine a gathering with lipid and state executives astatine the White House.

“I would similar to marque a deal, you know, the casual way. But if we don’t bash it the casual way, we’re going to bash it the hard way,” helium added.

Since the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro past week from Caracas successful a subject operation, Trump and his officials person upped the ante against the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk.

So, what are the ways that US President Trump could instrumentality power of Greenland, a territory of Denmark?

INTERACTIVE - Where is Greenland Map

Is Trump considering paying retired Greenlanders?

Paying retired to Greenland’s astir 56,000-strong colonisation is an enactment that White House officials person been reportedly discussing.

Located mostly wrong the Arctic Circle, Greenland is the world’s largest island, with 80 percent of its onshore covered by glaciers. Nuuk, the capital, is the astir populated area, location to astir one-third of the population.

Trump’s officials person discussed sending payments to Greenlanders – ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per idiosyncratic – according to a Reuters report, successful a bid to person them to secede from Denmark and perchance articulation Washington.

Greenland is formally a portion of Denmark, with its ain elected authorities and rules implicit astir of its interior affairs, including power implicit earthy resources and governance. Copenhagen inactive handles overseas policy, defence and Greenland’s finances.

But since 2009, Greenland has the close to secede if its colonisation votes for independency successful a referendum. In theory, payouts to Greenland residents could beryllium an effort to power their vote.

Trump shared his ambitions of annexing Greenland during his archetypal word arsenic well, terming it “essentially a ample existent property deal.”

If the US authorities were to wage $100,000 to each Greenland resident, the full measure for this effort would magnitude to astir $5.6bn.

Can the US ‘buy’ Greenland?

Earlier this week, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed to reporters connected Wednesday that Trump’s officials are “actively” discussing a imaginable connection to bargain the Danish territory.

During a briefing connected Monday with lawmakers from some chambers of Congress, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them that Trump would similar to buy Greenland alternatively than invade it. Rubio is scheduled to clasp talks with Danish leaders adjacent week.

Both Nuuk and Copenhagen person repeatedly insisted that the land “is not for sale”.

There are fewer modern humanities precedents to comparison Trump’s threats with Greenland, overmuch similar the abduction of Maduro connected his orders.

The US purchased Louisiana from France successful 1803 for $15m and Alaska from Russia successful 1867 for $7.2m. However, some France and Russia were consenting sellers — dissimilar Denmark and Greenland today.

Washington has besides purchased territory from Denmark successful the past. In 1917, the US, nether President Woodrow Wilson, bought the Danish West Indies for $25m during World War I, aboriginal renaming them the United States Virgin Islands.

Can Trump truly conscionable wage disconnected his way?

While Greenlanders person been unfastened to departing from Denmark, the colonisation has repeatedly refused to beryllium a portion of the US. Nearly 85 percent of the colonisation rejects the idea, according to a 2025 canvass commissioned by the Danish insubstantial Berlingske.

Meanwhile, different poll, by YouGov, shows that lone 7 percent of Americans enactment the thought of a US subject penetration of the territory.

Jeffrey Sachs, an American economist and a prof astatine Columbia University, told Al Jazeera, “The White House wants to bargain retired Greenlanders, not to wage for what Greenland is worth, which is mode beyond what the US would ever pay.”

“Trump thinks helium tin bargain Greenland connected the cheap, not for what it’s worthy to Denmark oregon Europe,” helium said. “This effort to negociate straight with the Greenlanders is an affront and menace to Danish and European sovereignty.”

Denmark and the European Union “should marque wide that Trump should halt this maltreatment of European sovereignty,” said Sachs. “Greenland should not beryllium for merchantability oregon seizure by the US.”

Sachs added that the EU needs to measure “[Greenland’s] tremendous worth arsenic a geostrategic portion successful the Arctic, filled with resources, captious for Europe’s subject security.” And, helium added, “certainly not a plaything of the United States and its caller emperor”.

Denmark and the US were among the 12 founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) successful 1949 to supply corporate information against Soviet expansion.

“Europe should archer the US imperialists to spell away,” Sachs said. “[Today] Europe is acold much apt to beryllium invaded from the West (US) than from the East,” the economist told Al Jazeera.

Trump watches parachuters astatine Fort Bragg

Has the US tried to bargain Greenland earlier?

Yes, connected much than 1 occasion.

The archetypal specified connection surfaced successful 1867 nether Secretary of State William Seward, during discussions to successfully acquisition Alaska. By 1868, helium was reportedly prepared to connection $5.5m successful golden to get some Greenland and Iceland.

In 1910, a three-way onshore swap was discussed that would impact the US acquiring Greenland successful speech for giving Denmark parts of the US-held Philippines, and the instrumentality of Northern Schleswig from Germany backmost to Denmark was proposed.

A much ceremonial effort was made successful 1946, instantly pursuing World War II. Recognising Greenland’s captious relation successful monitoring Soviet movements, President Harry Truman’s medication offered Denmark $100m successful golden for the island.

But Denmark flatly rejected the idea.

Can the US onslaught Greenland?

While governmental analysts accidental that a US onslaught to annex Greenland would beryllium a nonstop usurpation of the NATO treaty, the White House has said that utilizing subject unit to get Greenland is among the options.

Denmark, a NATO ally, has besides said that immoderate specified onslaught would extremity the subject alliance.

“We request Greenland from the standpoint of nationalist security, and Denmark isn’t going to beryllium capable to bash it,” Trump told reporters connected Air Force One connected Sunday. “It’s truthful strategic.”

Greenland is 1 of the world’s astir sparsely populated, geographically immense regions.

But done a 1951 statement with Denmark, the US subject already has a important beingness connected the island.

The US subject is stationed astatine the Pituffik Space Base, formerly known arsenic Thule Air Base, successful the northwestern country of Greenland, and the 1951 pact allows Washington to acceptable up further “defence areas” connected the island.

The Thule basal supports rocket warning, rocket defence, abstraction surveillance missions, and outer bid and control.

Nearly 650 unit are stationed astatine the base, including US Air Force and Space Force members, with Canadian, Danish and Greenlandic civilian contractors. Under the 1951 deal, Danish laws and taxation don’t use to American unit connected the base.

Denmark besides has a subject beingness successful Greenland, headquartered successful Nuuk, wherever its main tasks are surveillance and hunt and rescue operations, and the “assertion of sovereignty and subject defence of Greenland and the Faroe Islands”, according to Danish Defence.

But the US forces astatine Thule are comfortably stronger than the Danish subject beingness connected the island. Many analysts judge that if the US were to usage these troops to effort to inhabit Greenland, they could bash truthful without overmuch subject absorption oregon bloodshed.

Trump told reporters connected Sunday that “Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships each implicit the place”. Both planetary powers person a beingness successful the Arctic Circle; however, determination is nary grounds of their ships anyplace adjacent Greenland.

Is determination different enactment for the US?

As Trump’s officials mull plans to annex Greenland, determination person reportedly been discussions successful the White House connected entering into a benignant of statement that defines a unsocial operation of sovereignty-sharing.

Reuters reported that officials person discussed putting unneurotic a Compact of Free Association, an planetary statement betwixt the US and 3 independent, sovereign Pacific land nations: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau.

The governmental statement grants the US work for defence and information successful speech for economical assistance. The precise details of COFA agreements alteration depending connected the signatory.

For a COFA agreement, successful theory, Greenland would request to abstracted from Denmark.

Asked wherefore the Trump medication had antecedently said it was not ruling retired utilizing subject unit to get Greenland, Leavitt replied that each options were ever connected the table, but Trump’s “first enactment ever has been diplomacy”.

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Why does Trump privation Greenland badly?

Trump has cited nationalist information arsenic his information for wanting to instrumentality Greenland.

For the US, Greenland offers the shortest way from North America to Europe. The US has expressed involvement successful expanding its subject beingness successful Greenland by placing radars successful the waters connecting Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. These waters are a gateway for Russian and Chinese vessels, which Washington aims to track.

But Greenland is besides location to mineral riches, including uncommon earths. According to a 2023 survey, 25 of 34 minerals deemed “critical earthy materials” by the European Commission were recovered successful Greenland. Scientists judge the land could besides person important lipid and state reserves.

However, Greenland does not transportation retired the extraction of lipid and gas, and its mining assemblage is opposed by its Indigenous population. The island’s system is mostly reliant connected its sportfishing manufacture astatine the moment.

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