U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to back away from using threats of force to acquire Greenland marked the culmination of weeks of policy turmoil, as senior aides rushed to balance his demands with efforts to calm alarm among U.S. allies, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
In remarks on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump ruled out using military force after weeks of refusing to do so, and in a social media post said he would no longer be imposing tariffs that he had threatened to put into effect on February 1.
White House officials had pushed a less provocative approach, with several key members of the president’s team unenthusiastic about possibly using military force to seize the Danish territory, the two White House sources said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
After saying on Wednesday that tariffs are off the table, Trump said he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region” during talks in Davos. He tasked top officials with negotiating a potential deal.
TRUMP’S ARCTIC AMBITIONS REJECTED
In recent weeks, Trump has revived his long-standing ambition to acquire the Arctic island, arguing that it is vital to U.S. national security as great-power competition intensifies in the Arctic.
The leaders of Greenland and Denmark, which oversees the territory, have rejected Trump’s overtures, stressing that the island’s future is for its people to decide and accusing the United States of bullying tactics.
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said he would implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the U.S. was allowed to buy Greenland, which major EU states decried as blackmail.
Tariff Threat Catches Aides Off-Guard
Trump first floated the idea of taking over Greenland in 2019 but ramped up rhetoric after returning to power a year ago. In meetings last year, U.S. officials assured their Danish counterparts that relations were stabilizing, leaving them with the impression that any military takeover of the Arctic territory was no longer top of mind for the administration, according to two separate sources familiar with those discussions.
That changed in December, when Trump abruptly announced that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry would serve as special envoy to Greenland and renewed his push to acquire the territory, seemingly emboldened by the successful January 3 operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
While aides were broadly aligned on the goal of taking over Greenland, they were split over the president’s aggressive approach, the two White House sources said.
In most White House meetings, more officials have urged caution than those pushing for the United States to take the island by force, said the sources, who were unaware of serious discussions on military options to seize Greenland.
(With inputs from Reuters)
