During his meeting with oil executives at the White House on Jan. 9, reporters present asked President Donald Trump about his plans for Greenland. “I’m not talking about money for Greenland,” Trump stated. “Yet, I might talk about that, but right now, we are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.” He added: “I would like to make a deal of, you know, the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”
Asked why resort to force when the U.S. already has full military and other access to Greenland, Trump applied his extensive knowledge of New York real estate negotiations to the thornier tasks of statecraft: “Because when we own it, we defend it. You don’t defend leases the same way, you have to own it.”
The London Daily Mail tabloid, which is not always the most accurate source of strategic intelligence, reported on Saturday that sources had informed them that “Trump has ordered his senior commanders to draw up a plan for a potential invasion of Greenland—a move that could potentially lead to a complete collapse of NATO.” RT further summarizes: “The report said that the push to seize Greenland was led by several Trump advisers, including political aide Stephen Miller, who were emboldened by the recent US attack on Venezuela and now want to move quickly to secure the island before Russia or China could make a move.”
