US looks to take over Greenland in 'weeks or months', says Trump aide

Senior US official claims swift movement is possible on Greenland, but the island's leader and Denmark have firmly rejected any takeover, stressing sovereignty amid Arctic tensions

US President Donald Trump’s push to gain control of Greenland appears to be intensifying, with a senior White House official indicating that the US could take significant steps on the Arctic territory within “weeks or months".

 

In an interview with USA Today, Thomas Dans, Trump’s Arctic commissioner, signalled urgency behind Trump's long-standing interest in the island.

 

Dans, one of the chief advocates of Trump’s Greenland policy, said developments could move quickly if the President chose to accelerate the process.

 

“This is a train route with multiple stops,” he said.

 

Dans said that progress could happen at full speed, bypassing intermediate steps and going straight to the main objective, adding that this was the pace Trump wanted to see.

 

While Dans acknowledged that negotiations or visible progress could emerge sooner rather than later, he conceded that a full acquisition would take time.

 

“We need to get the people of Greenland on board,” he said, pointing to public opinion that strongly opposes Greenland becoming a US state.

Denmark and Greenland push back

Greenland and Denmark leaders have repeatedly dismissed any suggestion that the island could be transferred to US control.

 

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has stated that the territory is not for sale and would remain within the Kingdom of Denmark. “Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people,” Nielsen said in a recent press conference, adding that decisions about the island’s future would be made democratically and not dictated by external pressure.

 

Denmark has echoed that stance, insisting that Greenland’s status is non-negotiable. Copenhagen has stressed that existing Nato arrangements already address security concerns in the Arctic and that sovereignty cannot be overridden by economic or strategic interests.

 

Polls in Greenland show that while many residents support eventual independence from Denmark, an overwhelming majority reject becoming part of the United States.

High-level talks signal rising stakes

Dans’s comments come as US Vice President JD Vance hosts senior Danish and Greenlandic officials at the White House on January 14. The meeting was initially expected to be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but Vance’s involvement is seen as a sign that the issue has gained momentum at the highest levels of the Trump administration.

 

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the talks were requested by Denmark amid growing concern over Trump’s increasingly blunt language on Greenland. Vance, who visited the US military base in Greenland last year, has warned European allies that Washington may “have to do something” if Arctic security is not taken more seriously.

Trump’s strategy and Arctic anxieties

Trump claims that the US needs Greenland to prevent Russia or China from expanding their influence in the Arctic, a region growing in importance as ice melts and new shipping routes open. He has publicly favoured buying the island or securing control through diplomatic means, while stopping short of ruling out military options.

 

“I would like to make a deal the easy way,” Trump said earlier this month. “But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”

 

Dans, however, downplayed the likelihood of military action, saying the focus remains on diplomacy and long-term engagement.

Allies uneasy over US stance

Trump’s renewed push has unsettled European allies, with several governments warning against any attempt to alter borders or sovereignty through pressure. This episode risks straining transatlantic ties at a time when Nato unity is already being tested by conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.