President Donald Trump no longer says he wants to take control of Greenland, a territory of Denmark, by force. But he has shared few details after teasing the “framework of a future deal” that he said will lead to a larger U.S. presence on the mostly frozen island.
The three leading Republicans competing to challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff later this year say they agree with Trump that Greenland is essential for national security and trust his leadership on the matter.
“We need to do is let the president do his job,” U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, said. “I trust his judgment, and he’ll lead us in the right direction.”
Collins, who leads in most polls gauging support among likely Republican primary voters, said he agrees with Trump that a bigger presence in Greenland is essential to protecting U.S. national security interests and to ensure other world powers like China and Russia don’t build a bigger presence in the Arctic region.
Trump, at times, has also mentioned that he wants the U.S. government and its companies to have access to rare-earth minerals below the surface of Greenland’s frozen terrain.
Although he is no longer threatening to send the U.S. military to Greenland and has backed off from a plan to impose tariffs on European nations who stand in his way, Trump continues to talk up Greenland and made it a focus of his trip to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum last week.
“We can do anything we want — we can do military, we can do anything we want, and it’s being negotiated,” Trump told reporters about the deal he said he reached on Greenland.
Even as Trump’s approach has shifted, the Senate hopefuls say they believe he is on the right track.
“I trust the president and his administration to negotiate a deal regarding Greenland that not only protects American national security interests, but also strengthens our European alliances,” candidate Derek Dooley said in a statement.
Polling shows that most U.S. voters do not agree with Trump on Greenland, especially if he pushes toward taking complete control of the semiautonomous territory. A survey released by CNN on Jan. 15 said that 75% of respondents opposed the U.S. acquiring Greenland.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, said he is hopeful Greenland officials start cooperating more with Trump.
“This is a strategic location that would benefit the United States and benefit our citizens, especially against China and against Russia,” he said. “So, I agree with him. It is very, very important.”
Ossoff, like most Democrats, has criticized Trump for focusing on Greenland instead of improving the economy and other domestic issues he campaigned on.
“We have more job losses last year than in any year since the COVID pandemic, we’ve got trade wars raging that are pushing up prices, and the White House is preoccupied with the conquest of Greenland,” Ossoff said on WSB radio earlier this month. “It’s a massive and ludicrous distraction from the real interests of the American people and our true national interest.”
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