Trump Claims U.S. Will Gain ‘total Access’ to Greenland Under Emerging Deal
President Donald Trump said the United States is on track to secure sweeping military and security access to Greenland under a deal he says he personally negotiated, allowing the U.S. to establish as many military bases as it wants on the Arctic island.
Speaking to Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo as he concluded a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said negotiations were still underway but claimed the outcome would overwhelmingly favor Washington.
“We will have everything we want. We’re getting everything we want at no cost,” Trump said. According to the president, the agreement would grant the U.S. unrestricted military access to the Danish territory, with no expiration date for its presence there.
“I’m not going to have to pay anything. We’re going to have total access to Greenland. We’ll have all the military access that we want.”
Trump added that the planned Golden Dome air defense system under development by the United States would extend coverage over Greenland as part of the arrangement. “We’re getting everything we wanted,” he said.
While Trump has previously insisted the U.S. should formally acquire Greenland, he appeared to soften that position, suggesting ownership was no longer a prerequisite.
“Well, I don’t know if I could say that, but it could be. It’s possible. Anything’s possible,” Trump said when asked about U.S. ownership of the island.
Trump also pointed to market reaction following the announcement, saying investors responded positively after his comments became public.
“I noticed the stock market went up very substantially after we announced it,” he said. “But the details are being negotiated now. It will be very good.”
The framework Trump described emerged from a Jan. 21 meeting in Davos with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and marked a notable shift from the president’s earlier confrontational stance toward U.S. allies.
In his address at the Swiss summit, Trump ruled out the use of military force to take control of Greenland, even as he reiterated his belief that Denmark should ultimately transfer ownership of the island to the United States. He argued that only the U.S. had the capacity to adequately defend the strategically significant Arctic territory from foreign adversaries.
Financial markets initially reacted negatively to Trump’s pressure campaign. The S&P 500 posted its worst single-day performance in three months on Jan. 20. Markets rebounded after Trump announced on Truth Social that he had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland” following his meeting with Rutte and said he would pause the tariffs he had threatened to impose on European nations.
Denmark’s foreign minister welcomed the apparent de-escalation.
“The day is ending on a better note than it began,” Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a statement.
“We welcome that President Trump has ruled out to take Greenland by force and paused the trade war with Europe. Now, let’s sit down and find out how we can address the American security concerns in the Arctic while respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
The United States already operates under a 1951 defense treaty with Denmark that allows Washington to establish or operate “defense areas” within Greenland, provided it receives Danish government approval. Under the agreement, the U.S. is permitted “to improve and generally to fit the area for military use” in coordination with Denmark.
It remains unclear how the new arrangement Trump described would differ from existing agreements. U.S. and Danish officials previously announced the creation of a high-level “working group” to address tensions and ongoing discussions related to Greenland.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.