https://www.semafor.com/article/01/10/2025/debatable-should-the-us-make-a-play-for-greenland
What’s at stake
President-elect Donald Trump has openly talked in recent days about bringing Greenland under US control, refusing to rule out military or economic force to achieve that aim. His comments have touched off a global debate, with European politicians warning Trump against threatening the sovereignty of an autonomous Danish territory.
Greenland occupies a strategically important position for the US, hosting a military base and providing critical minerals. Critics of Trump’s interest in greater control over Greenland warn of destabilizing the US alliance with Denmark for an unnecessary and costly plan. Trump allies make the national security case for countering China and Russia via a bigger US role in Greenland, whether it’s full acquisition or a free association pact.
Semafor spoke with two experts on either side of the question. Their responses are lightly edited for length and clarity.
Alex Gray, a former National Security Council chief of staff under Donald Trump and a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, argues that the US should pursue greater control of Greenland:
“It’s a very historically well-supported argument. And you really have to go back to how, in the 19th century and through the 20th century, before we