Greenlanders “don’t want to be Americans” and must decide the future of the Arctic island themselves, politicians in the self-governing Danish territory have said, after Donald Trump warned the US would “do something whether they like it or not”. “We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders,” said the group, which included the island’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. At a meeting with oil and gas executives at the White House earlier on Friday, Trump had said Greenland was crucial for US national security. But Trump told reporters on Friday that a lease agreement was not enough. “Countries have to have ownership and you defend ownership, you don’t defend leases,” he said.

Source: The Guardian January 10, 2026 20:04 UTC