US Considers ‘Range of Military Options’ To Acquire Greenland

In a dramatic escalation of long-standing interest, the United States under President Donald Trump has publicly stated it is weighing “a range of options”—including potential military action—to gain control of Greenland, the strategically vital Arctic territory currently under Danish sovereignty. On January 10, 2026, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared that acquiring the world’s largest island is now a top national security priority, citing the need to counter expanding Russian military presence and Chinese mining ambitions in the rapidly warming Arctic. While administration officials have emphasized a preference for negotiated solutions such as purchase or a compact of free association, Trump himself has repeatedly suggested that if diplomacy fails, the U.S. would be prepared to take the territory “one way or another,” with military force described as “always an option” available to the commander-in-chief.

The remarks have triggered intense backlash from Denmark and its European NATO partners. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called any threat of force against Greenland “unacceptable and unthinkable,” warning that an American military move against allied territory would effectively “terminate” the NATO alliance and shatter the post-World War II European security order. In response, several European nations—including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Norway—have accelerated joint military exercises and increased troop rotations to Greenland, signaling a clear determination to defend Danish sovereignty.

The renewed push comes against the backdrop of Greenland’s growing geopolitical and economic importance: vast deposits of rare earth minerals critical for defense and green technology, control over emerging Arctic shipping routes, and the existing U.S. Pituffik Space Base in the island’s far north. Despite bipartisan skepticism in Congress and strong opposition from Greenland’s own government in Nuuk, which insists on self-determination, the crisis continues to deepen fractures within the transatlantic alliance and reshape the strategic landscape of the High North as of mid-January 2026.