President Donald Trump has called U.S. ownership of Greenland “an absolute necessity,” but the idea has been met with outright rejection from Greenlandic and Danish leaders.
That hasn’t stopped the Trump administration from exploring the possibility of putting a price tag on the world’s largest island, which comes as Trump has simultaneously called for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state and floated the idea of regaining control of the Panama Canal.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark with roughly 56,000 residents, is home to the Thule Air Base, an important U.S. military installation, and holds valuable deposits of rare earth minerals, oil and natural gas. Trump has ramped up his rhetoric surrounding U.S. ownership, but the price tag of acquiring the island could be enormous, not only in economic terms, but also in political capital.
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What To Know
Trump is not the first president to express interest in Greenland. Harry Truman offered Denmark $100 million in gold for the island in 1946. If the offer was adjusted for inflation, it would equal roughly $1.6 billion dollars in today’s money.
While Trump has not publicly named a price, his administration previously dangled promises of “billions of dollars” in investment to Greenlanders during discussions in 2019.
Greenland’s leadership has consistently rebuffed Trump’s overtures, with then-Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede saying in December: “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and we will never be for sale.”
Despite this, Trump administration officials are considering one-upping the current subsidies Greenland receives from Denmark, which currently stand at $600 million a year.
“The point is, ‘We’ll pay you more than Denmark does,'” one administration official told The Washington Post on April 1 referring to Greenland, two days after Vice President JD Vance returned from his visit to the island.
This suggests that any potential offer would include an annual payment of over $600 million to Greenland, upping costs from a one-off payment to a yearly commitment.
In total, a modern offer from the U.S. government could therefore total over $2.2 billion, with regular payments following each year, based on Truman’s previous offer and more recent comments.
Another factor to bear in mind is that Trump could make tariff threats against Denmark, with Sky News reporting that the president has considered targeting Danish pharmaceutical exports, including popular drugs like Ozempic, if Denmark refuses to negotiate.
Additionally, Greenland is not just a Danish matter, and its allies have suggested there would be an international response if any threats became a reality. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot warned: “The European Union would not let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are.”
What People Are Saying
Malte Humpert, a senior fellow at the Arctic Institute and its founder, told Newsweek: “This idea remains as ludicrous as it was in 2019.
“Rather than focusing on grandiose and unrealistic plans to buy sovereign territories, the incoming Trump administration should direct its focus to help the U.S. strengthen its Arctic presence by finally sufficiently funding the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker program and removing hurdles to acquire foreign-built icebreakers.”
What Happens Next
The Trump administration has not made any further moves to acquire Greenland following Vance’s return. Denmark continues to reject any talk of proposals.