Greenland’s Head of Government (Naalakkersuisut) Jens-Frederik Nielsen (L) and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen give a statement on the current situation at a press conference in the Mirror Hall at the Prime Minister’s Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 13, 2026.
Liselotte Sabroe | Afp | Getty Images
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Tuesday that the Arctic island chooses Denmark over the U.S., pushing back against Donald Trump‘s repeated takeover threats.
“If we have to choose between the USA and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark and the EU,” Nielsen said, according to translated comments reported by Danish public broadcaster DR.
He was speaking alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at a news conference in Copenhagen, ahead of crunch talks between U.S., Danish and Greenlandic officials at the White House on Wednesday.
“The time has come to stand together,” Nielsen added.
“It has not been easy to stand up to completely unacceptable pressure from our closest allies for a lifetime. But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us,” Frederiksen said.
Trump’s renewed interest in acquiring Greenland follows an audacious U.S. military operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.
Trump, who has long advocated for control over Greenland, has said the U.S. needs the Arctic island to prevent Russia and China from doing the same, telling reporters that Washington would acquire the self-governing Danish territory “one way or the other.”
The U.S. president has also said that the mineral-rich island, which is strategically situated between Europe and North America, is vital “from the standpoint of national security.”
Opinion polls have previously shown that Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose U.S. control, while a strong majority support independence from Denmark.
Denmark has pledged to boost health-care spending and infrastructure investments in recent months, while also seeking to defuse tensions with the Trump administration by investing in Arctic defense, including the purchase of 16 additional F-35 fighter jets.
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