WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump said the United States will have “total access” to Greenland as a result of a deal he says he negotiated, and build as many military bases as it wants on the Arctic island.
The framework is still being negotiated, Trump told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo. But he said, as he wrapped up a trip to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, “We will have everything we want. We’re getting everything we want at no cost.”
“I’m not going to have to pay anything. We’re going to have total access to Greenland. We’ll have all the military access that we want,” Trump said.
Trump conceded the United States may not end up formally acquiring Greenland, which he had previously insisted upon.
“Well, I don’t know if I could say that, but it could be. It’s possible. Anything’s possible,” Trump said of U.S. ownership.
In the meantime, the United States is getting “total security” and “total access” to the Danish territory, with “no time limit” for America’s military footprint there to end, Trump said. He also said the Golden Dome air defense system that the United States is building will cover Greenland.
“We’re getting everything we wanted,” Trump said.
“I noticed the stock market went up very substantially after we announced it,” Trump said. “But the details are being negotiated now. It will be very good.”
The emerging agreement that Trump said he brokered on Jan. 21 with NATO’s secretary general in Davos represents a stunning climbdown for the U.S. president, who used his address at the Swiss summit to berate America’s allies.
In his speech, he ruled out the notion of using military force to take control of the island. Still, he argued that Denmark should transfer ownership of Greenland to the United States. America has greater means than Denmark to protect the Arctic territory from foreign adversaries, Trump said.
The stock market reacted poorly to Trump’s pressure campaign. The S&P 500 index posted its worst day in three months on Jan. 20. It rebounded after Trump announced on Truth Social that he’d “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland” after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and backed off tariffs he said he’d be putting on European nations.
Asked about Denmark’s position on the deal as he traveled back to the United States aboard Air Force One, Trump said: “I think everyone likes it.”
“I mean, I think? I’ll let you know in about two weeks,” he added.
Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen breathed a sigh of relief after Trump’s Truth Social announcement, saying in a statement, “The day is ending on a better note than it began.”
“We welcome that President Trump has ruled out to take Greenland by force and paused the trade war with Europe. Now, let’s sit down and find out how we can address the American security concerns in the Arctic while respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.
A 1951 treaty with Denmark already allows the United States to establish or operate “defense areas” inside Greenland with the permission of the Danish government. The treaty allows the United States “to improve and generally to fit the area for military use,” in collaboration with Denmark.
It was not immediately clear how the deal that Trump said he was negotiating would differ. The United States and Denmark previously announced the formation of a “working group” of high-level officials to discuss the dispute over Greenland.
Contributing: Zac Anderson