'Will do something...easy way or hard way': Trump reveals his Greenland plans amid fear of 'NATO war'

US President Donald Trump on Friday (Jan 9) said that the United States will make a deal with Greenland either the "hard way or the easy way," adding that he will not let Russia or China occupy it. Trump revealed his intentions at a White House meeting with oil executives looking to benefit in Venezuela. This comes even as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that an invasion of Greenland would end "everything" including NATO and the post-World War II security structure. Trump has claimed, again and again, that making the Danish territory part of the United States would serve US national security interests, given its strategic location on the Arctic. His rhetoric increased after capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a dramatic operation.

"We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not. I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way…We're not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland. That's what they're going to do if we don't. So we're going to be doing something with Greenland, either the nice way or the more difficult way.," Trump said when asked of Greenland.

Trump also addressed the fears raised by Denmark, saying, "I'm a fan of Denmark, too, I have to tell you. And you know, they've been very nice to me…But you know, the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn't mean that they own the land." Denmark controls defence and foreign policy in Greenland while the island has been under extensive self-government since 1979.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen urged America to stop "threatening" Greenland. "I have to say this very clearly to the United States: it is absolutely absurd to say that the United States should take control of Greenland…It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland…The US has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom," Frederiksen said. She also warned that an invasion of Greenland would end "everything," meaning NATO and the post-World War II security structure.

Is Greenland next?

Even as Danish PM pushed back, Trump said after the capture of Maduro, “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.” He added, “We need Greenland. We do need Greenland, absolutely...[It's] surrounded by Russia and Chinese ship.” He also mentioned ‘national security’ as a reason for his demand. On the same day, Katie Miller, wife of Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, posted the contentious image of the Danish autonomous territory in the colours of the US flag on her X feed. She captioned the post as “SOON,” igniting conversation that the US may try to bring Greenland under its control next. Stephen Miller is widely seen as the architect of much of Trump's policies