US President Donald Trump repeated his assertion that Washington would do "something" about Greenland—either the easy way or the hard way.
Trump claimed that if the US doesn't take action, China and Russia will, and he doesn't want those countries as neighbours.
"We are going to do something about Greenland, whether they like it or not. If we don't, Russia or China will take over Greenland—and we're not going to have Russia or China as neighbours. I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don't do it the easy way, we'll do it the hard way," Trump said while interacting with the media.
#WATCH | US President Donald Trump says, "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 neighbour. I would like to make a deal the easy… pic.twitter.com/lclIgq5JZa
— ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2026
The US President also mocked Denmark's stance on Greenland, saying that landing a boat in the island country around 500 years ago “doesn’t mean they own the land.”
"We had lots of boats go there, too. But we need that because if you take a look at the outside of Greenland right now, there are Russian destroyers, Chinese destroyers, and Russian submarines all over the place. We're not going to let Russia or China occupy Greenland, and that's what they'll do if we don't act. We will do something with Greenland, either the nice way or the difficult way," Trump said.
In response to a question about why the US wants to own Greenland when Washington already has a military presence there under a 1951 agreement, Trump said such deals are not enough to guarantee Greenland's defence.
"You defend ownership. You don't defend leases. And we'll have to defend Greenland. If we don't do it, China or Russia will," he said.
The island country, with a population of 57,000 people, is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
