Why an emboldened Trump set his sights on Greenland

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In late 2018, President Trump asked his national security adviser, John Bolton, to weigh in on an idea floated by a prominent businessman: Should the U.S. buy Greenland? Bolton said he would look into it.

“We’ve got important strategic interests there," he recalled saying. Once news of the effort leaked, it was derailed and Trump moved on to other priorities. Eight years later, however, Trump’s pursuit of Greenland has become a focus of his second presidential term.

In recent days, he has ramped up pressure on European leaders in an attempt to wrest the world’s largest island into U.S. control. By threatening tariffs and leaving the specter of military action on the table in recent days, he has stunned even some aides who now believe it could become more difficult for Europeans to accept any sort of negotiation given the U.S.

president’s increasing demands. Senior administration officials have tried to reassure European allies that there are currently no military plans to take over Greenland, and European leaders are working the phone with Trump and his inner circle in a bid to de-escalate. One top diplomat said that unlike in Trump’s first term, Europeans are taking his threats more seriously now.

After he won the 2024 election, the president immediately set his eyes again on acquiring the Danish island, according to people involved in the discussions. And Trump has suggested if Denmark doesn’t give up control of Greenland, he might take it by force. As a real-estate developer, Trump has long been enticed by the idea of acquiring Greenland, an area more than three times the size of Texas, in what would be the largest land acquisition since the U.S.