---
title: "Trump renews his push for Greenland as Denmark vows to defend it"
description: "President Trump used the NATO summit in Turkey to revive his demand that the United States take control of Greenland, the vast Arctic island that is a self-governing territory of Denmark, saying it matters for global security. Denmark's prime minister pushed back, pledging to defend 'every inch' of NATO territory."
category: "World"
category_url: https://herald.la/category/world
author: "Arman Petrosyan"
published: 2026-07-08T09:54:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-08T09:54:00.000Z
canonical: https://herald.la/article/trump-renews-his-push-for-greenland-as-denmark-vows-to-defend-it
tags: ["greenland", "denmark", "donald-trump", "nato", "arctic"]
---
# Trump renews his push for Greenland as Denmark vows to defend it

President Trump used the NATO summit in Turkey to revive his demand that the United States take control of Greenland, the vast Arctic island that is a self-governing territory of Denmark, saying it matters for global security. Denmark's prime minister pushed back, pledging to defend 'every inch' of NATO territory.

President Trump has once again put Greenland at the center of an argument with a close ally, insisting the United States should control the Arctic island as leaders gathered for a NATO summit in Turkey.

## What Trump said

Speaking alongside NATO's secretary general, Mark Rutte, Mr. Trump said Greenland was "very important" to the United States "for the protection of the world," while adding that it "is not important for Denmark," [CBC News reported](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-greenland-nato-denmark-9.7261603). He acknowledged that pressing the issue could strain ties within the alliance, and he suggested the United States could pull its troops out of Europe in the face of continued resistance, [U.S. News & World Report reported](https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-07-07/trump-says-greenland-should-be-controlled-by-the-us-not-denmark).

It was a return to a theme Mr. Trump has raised before: that the mineral-rich, strategically located island, which sits along Arctic shipping and missile-defense routes, should be under American control rather than Danish sovereignty.

## Denmark's answer

Denmark rejected the idea firmly. The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said her country was prepared to defend its territory, framing Greenland's security as a NATO matter. Asked whether Denmark would defend the island militarily if it were attacked, she said, "We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory," [as reported from the summit](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/08/trump-nato-security-summit-turkey-rutte/).

## An alliance strained

The exchange added friction to a summit already shadowed by questions about Mr. Trump's commitment to NATO and by the widening conflict with Iran. Greenland's own leaders have previously said the island is not for sale and that its future is for Greenlanders to decide, and Denmark has treated the matter as one of sovereignty, not negotiation.

For now, the dispute is a rhetorical one, a U.S. president publicly pressuring an ally over territory the ally has no intention of ceding. But raised again on the stage of a NATO summit, and paired with a threat to rethink the American troop presence in Europe, it is the kind of pressure that tests how much the alliance's members can take one another for granted.