Donald Trump is celebrating a Greenland security deal as a “dream come true”—even though it stops short of the thing he has spent months demanding: control of Greenland.
Trump crowed on Truth Social Friday that the proposed arrangement with Denmark and Greenland addresses “ALL” of the United States’ concerns about the strategic Arctic territory.
Denmark and Greenland had a different take on the proposed agreement, which involves an update to a 1951 treaty between the U.S. and Denmark that already allowed the U.S. to maintain a military presence and expand its activities in Greenland.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a joint statement that the agreement will strengthen the security of the Arctic and the North Atlantic. The proposed deal also pointedly recognizes “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination,” while keeping Greenland under Danish sovereignty.
Nielsen noted that the arrangement reflects “Greenland’s interests and its place in the international cooperation. It is to the benefit of us all.”
Trump preened that the arrangement “gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.” Somehow, he added, “there will be NO COST to the United States!”
No text of the agreement is available, and it has not yet been finalized, The Washington Post reports. Denmark and Greenland’s parliaments, and possibly the U.S. Congress, must approve it. Trump is expected to meet the leaders of Denmark and Greenland next week in New York at the United Nations General Assembly, where they plan to sign the deal.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to take over Greenland, calling it too important for the locals to handle its security needs given the northern territory’s exposure to China and Russia (which is ruled by his proclaimed good friend Vladimir Putin).
Greenland, Denmark, and NATO leaders have repeatedly told Trump officials that under the 1951 treaty the administration already had a significant latitude to expand the U.S. military presence there. Trump is also interested in Greenland’s mineral wealth.
Trump on Friday called the new deal a “dream come true for the United States of America,” and noted that he now looks forward to working with the “wonderful people” of Denmark and Greenland, concerning “this large and highly strategic parcel of land.” He emphasized that no other country can have a base or “make sensitive investments” in Greenland without “our express written approval.”
According to the Washington Post, the agreement reportedly allows only NATO countries to set up bases in Greenland, and only NATO or EU members can make sensitive investments in the country.
Trump boasted in his post that no other president has been able to work out any deal, but he failed to mention the 1951 agreement.
Trump already predicted in January, in an interview with former Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, that the U.S. was getting everything it wanted in a security deal with Greenland and Denmark (except all of Greenland). He said part of his planned “Golden Dome” weapons shield would be over Greenland.
