The USA now has Greenland, President Donald Trump claimed in Washington on Monday, 2 November, thanking Denmark and Europe for a deal that does not transfer sovereignty over the Arctic island.
Speaking at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the eve of the USA midterm elections, Trump presented the arrangement as one of his administration’s achievements. His remarks appear in the White House recording and were reported by Danish broadcaster TV 2.
Trump said:
“We also have Greenland now … we want to thank Denmark and Europe for making that possible.”
He also said the USA had obtained Greenland on an unlimited basis. Neither remark reflects a transfer of the territory to the USA.
What the USA has in Greenland
The agreement signed on 22 September by the USA, Denmark and Greenland updates their 1951 defence arrangements. It allows American forces to expand activities at Pituffik Space Base and establish additional defence areas at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, with technical details to be agreed by the parties.
Crucially, the text reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and recognises the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination. Greenland remains a self-governing territory within the kingdom. The agreement concerns security cooperation and military access, not American ownership.
The agreement has no expiry date, but it has not yet entered into force. The necessary parliamentary procedures in Denmark and Greenland must first be completed. The Danish parliament’s record lists the proposal as introduced on 22 October, with its first debate scheduled for 12 November.
Another Greenland claim before the USA midterms
Trump has made similar assertions before. At a rally on 24 October, he said Denmark had given Greenland to the USA, as NordiskPost previously reported. On 31 October he also shared an image depicting Greenland as a giant American military base.
TV 2 USA correspondent Lotte Mejlhede interpreted Monday’s comments as part of a domestic political message, arguing that Trump was presenting the defence agreement to voters as a larger achievement than its provisions support.
