Donald Trump says US must gain control of Greenland

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

Donald Trump increased pressure on Denmark to cede control of the Arctic island of Greenland to the US, as vice-president JD Vance toured a US military base on the territory.

“For international security, we have to have Greenland. It’s not a question of, ‘Do you think we can do without it?’ We can’t,” Trump said in Washington during Vance’s visit.

The US president, who has put American territorial expansion at the heart of his second term foreign policy, said Chinese and Russian ships were “all over the place” in the waters surrounding Greenland and Denmark could not be relied on to handle it.

Trump said: “Greenland is very important for the peace of the world, not us, the peace of the entire world. And I think Denmark understands it. I think the European Union understands it. And if they don’t, we’re going to have to explain it.”

Vance travelled to the Pituffik Space Base along the north-west coast of the island on Friday, accompanied by his wife Usha, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Chris Wright, the energy secretary. The trip was scaled back compared to an original plan for the US delegation to visit Nuuk, the island’s capital, and attend a dogsled race.

“It’s cold as shit here. Nobody told me,” Vance said as he had lunch with members of the US military on the base.

“The president is really interested in Arctic security, as you all know, and it’s only going to get bigger over the coming decades,” the vice-president added. He was later expected to deliver more extensive remarks, before returning to the US on Friday night.