Europe never gave Greenland away. Learn the real story behind the island.
I love Greenland as an issue.
It broke into the news in September 2019 when President Donald Trump suggested that Greenland was vital for U.S. security, that it was full of rare earth minerals, that the Russians and Chinese were “all over the place” and that the U.S ought to buy Greenland from Denmark. The Danish Prime Minister was categorical: Greenland was not for sale.
Suddenly everyone on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) had strong views on Greenland, even though few knew the first thing about it. A relative explained to me exactly what the U.S. ought to demand in Greenland.
I went full Nunn School on him. “What’s the threat?” I asked. “If you don’t know the problem, how can you know what steps to take to counter it? Do you know how much it would cost to build bases and maintain personnel in the Arctic? Is there funding in the Defense Department budget to cover those costs? Isn’t Greenland already part of NATO?”
My relative was pretty irritated with me.
Flash forward to 2026. On Sept. 22, Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed an agreement reaffirming U.S. responsibility for the defense of Greenland. It does not make Greenland part of the U.S.
A little bit of history about Greenland
Here’s the background.
Big island, tiny population. Three times the size of Texas, Greenland has only 56,700 people. The world’s largest island, 80% is covered by glaciers and snow. Formerly a Danish colony, Greenland now enjoys substantial self-rule within the Kingdom of Denmark with its own parliament and prime minister.
World War II and the Cold War. Nazi Germany occupied Denmark in 1940. In 1941 as part of the effort to defeat Germany, the Danish ambassador in Washington signed an agreement giving the U.S. the right to station troops and build bases in Greenland while recognizing Danish sovereignty over the island.
In 1951 Denmark and the U.S. signed a defense agreement allowing the U.S. to maintain bases in Greenland and to open and close them as we saw fit. At the peak of the Cold War, the U.S. had 10,000 troops and 17 bases in Greenland. By 1992 we — not Denmark, not Greenland — had closed all but one and reduced staffing to around 200 personnel.
U.S. willing to use force to seize Greenland? The second Trump administration was more intent on acquiring Greenland than they had been the first time around. In January 2026, the president claimed that Chinese and Russian were about to take over Greenland and he would not rule out using force to seize Greenland. We threatened to invade Greenland to get military access we already had.
Alarmed, Denmark, Norway, Germany and France sent troops to Greenland in January 2026. Danish troops were ordered to blow up airfields should the United States invade.
A deal defuses the crisis. The September agreement allows the U.S. to open two additional bases and install the Golden Dome missile shield. It recognizes the Danish Kingdom’s sovereignty over Greenland as well as Greenland’s right to self-determination. We discovered that we could accomplish our security objectives through negotiation with two friendly governments instead of threatening to invade.
Trump extolled the agreement as a victory, while the Greenlanders and Danes were pleased to have defused the most serious crisis with the U.S. ever. And yet Trump asserted in midterm campaign rallies that Europe “gave” Greenland to the United States.
Learn more about Greenland
Ask a Greenlander. Wearing my Nunn School hat (again), I have organized a program in Atlanta for Jacob Isbosethsen, the Greenland representative to the United States, on Nov. 19-20.
Come hear what Greenlanders think about the future of Greenland, American national security concerns, and the difference between owning territory and defending it.
Ask him why Greenlanders don’t want to become part of the United States, if Russia and China pose a threat to Greenland, if Greenland wants to become independent, how Greenland can grow its economy, if mining can be profitable there.
Isbosethsen will speak at the Atlanta Council on International Relations at lunch at the Capital City Club on Nov. 19, in the Exhibition Hall at Georgia Tech at 3:30 p.m. that same afternoon, and at a Global Atlanta lunch at the law offices of Miller and Martin in Midtown on Nov. 20. Click on the links for more information.
And maybe my relative will attend.
Ambassador Charles Shapiro is a retired U.S. diplomat who is a professor of practice at the Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech.
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The opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.