Trump: “We’ll take Greenland 100%.” The world’s largest island is once again a prize to be claimed
“It’s international peace. It’s strength and global security.” With these words, President Donald Trump revived the idea of annexing Greenland to the United States, stating there’s “a good chance we could do it without using military force,” but also adding that he’s “not taking anything off the table.”
The president confirmed to NBC News that there have “absolutely” been discussions and that America’s interest in the island is “serious.” When asked what message the annexation would send to Russia and China, Trump cut it short: “I don’t really care. Greenland is a separate issue,” adding that the acquisition would guarantee “international peace” in a region where “Russian and Chinese ships are already showing up.”
A statement that didn’t go unnoticed—not in Copenhagen, not in Nuuk (Greenland’s capital), and certainly not in the Kremlin, which called America’s Arctic ambitions “seriously destabilizing.”
An enormous island, with very few people (and a lot of ambition). So what exactly is Greenland?
It’s the largest island in the world, covering over 2.1 million square kilometers, 75% of which is covered by permanent ice. But the most surprising number is this: just 56,000 inhabitants, nearly all Inuit, scattered along the coast. About a third live in Nuuk; the rest reside in small settlements where the main economic activity remains hunting—seals, whales, polar bears, and other creatures officially labeled as endangered. Or, as some eco-PR folks would say, “endangered but tastefully so.”
From Erik the Red to Trump: who’s had Greenland?
The first known settlements date back to the 10th century, when Erik the Red—a Norwegian exiled from Iceland for murder—established colonies on the island with a handful of hardy pioneers. Those settlements mysteriously vanished in the 15th century, leaving the island once again to the Inuit.
In the 18th century, Denmark reasserted control, and after the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, Greenland was formally annexed into the Danish kingdom while Norway went its own way. Danish rule has been mostly continuous since then, although in 1946 the United States tried to buy the island for $100 million—a politely declined offer.
Since 1979, Greenland has enjoyed internal autonomy, expanded further in 2009. Today it governs nearly all domestic matters, with foreign affairs and defense still managed by Copenhagen.
The Arctic as the new global power frontier
The frenzy over Greenland isn’t about the love of ice. The reasons are far more practical: as Arctic ice melts, new shipping lanes, untapped mineral deposits, and vast energy opportunities are emerging. Unsurprisingly, alongside U.S. interest, China and Russia are also making moves.
The U.S. military base in Thule, built in 1951, is still operational. And in 2025, Greenland has become the symbolic battleground for control of the far North.
So, to sum up: the largest island on Earth, home to fewer people than a suburban neighborhood in a small town, is once again at the center of global geopolitical chess. They say it’s about saving the planet, securing peace, preserving the future of humanity… but meanwhile, daily life continues with the calm certainty of tradition—hunting whales with harpoons and other endangered species.
Greenland—if only there were penguins.
Maybe, deep down, environmentalists should root for annexation. Or at the very least, host a climate conference with a sustainable buffet.
Trump: “We’ll take Greenland 100%.” The world’s largest island is once again a prize to be claimed