Trump says anything less than having Greenland in US hands is ‘unacceptable’

US President Donald Trump says that anything less than US control of Greenland is unacceptable, hours before Vice President JD Vance is to host Danish and Greenlandic officials for talks.

In a post on his social media site, Trump reiterates his argument that the US “needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security.” He adds that “NATO should be leading the way for us to get it” and that otherwise Russia or China will.

“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump writes. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.”

Greenland is at the center of a geopolitical storm as Trump is insisting he wants to own the island — and the residents of its capital, Nuuk, say it is not for sale. The White House has not ruled out taking the Arctic island by force.

Vance is to meet Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt in Washington to discuss the island, which is a semiautonomous territory of the United States’ NATO ally Denmark.

Ahead of the meeting, France’s foreign minister denounced what he described as US “blackmail” over Greenland in the latest sign of irritation among America’s allies.