President Donald Trump told world leaders on Wednesday that he “won’t use force” to acquire Greenland. Trump’s reassurance came after Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen warned that the people of Greenland would need to be ready for “everything,” including U.S. military action to acquire the territory by force.
Asked during a press conference on Tuesday what he would be willing to do to acquire Greenland, Trump told reporters, “You’ll find out.”
According to CNBC, Greenland’s prime minister warned on Tuesday that the people of Greenland could not “rule out” that the situation could “escalate even worse.”
“It is not likely that there will be a use of military force, but it has not been ruled out yet. This leader from the other side has made it very clear that it is not ruled out,” Nielsen said. “And therefore we must of course be prepared for everything.”
During a speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Wednesday, Trump assured world leaders that he “won’t use force” to acquire Greenland.
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“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable,” Trump said. “But I won’t do that. Okay, now everyone say, ‘Oh good.’ That’s probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
The president explained that the United States previously had Greenland “as a trustee” but returned it to Denmark’s control after World War II.
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump provided an update regarding his Greenland negotiations in a statement on Truth Social.
“Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” Trump wrote. “This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations.”
As a result of the framework for the future Greenland deal, the president announced that he will not impose the tariffs he had previously announced against European nations in his effort to negotiate a deal to acquire the territory.
“Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress,” Trump added. “Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me.”