Greenland Still a Priority for Trump, Special Envoy Says

Greenland is still a priority for the U.S. president, U.S. special envoy to Greenland Jeff Landry indicated on July 1.

Landry, a Republican who also serves as Louisiana’s governor, told Breitbart’s Alex Marlow that he had recently spoken with President Donald Trump and that the president mentioned Greenland, the Arctic territory that currently belongs to Denmark.

Asked by Marlow about the situation regarding the huge island, Landry said Trump spoke to him on Saturday night and told him, “We need to get Greenland.”

“He’s not forgotten about it,” the governor added.

“And here’s the great news, after visiting Greenland, here’s what I will tell you, the people of Greenland want to be with the United States, they want a closer relationship with the United States, they want more English teachers, they want more military presence in Greenland, they want to free themselves from Danish control, and so now it’s a matter of just making that happen, and I think it’s easy.”

He added that, from a strategic perspective on natural resources, Greenland was “unbelievably important” to the United States.

“I mean, there’s a great oil and gas reserve there, there are great rare earth minerals there. There’s great fishing there. I mean, it’s a great, great place. So, we’re gonna get it,” Landry said.

Describing how Washington would go about getting Greenland, he said, “I think we do it by actually sending more military personnel to Greenland to repopulating our bases, to creating a direct shipping route between the United States and Greenland, to getting direct airlines between the United States and Greenland, to open up more trade with the Greenlanders.”

“I mean, right now they’re shipping all of their seafood to China and Russia. I mean, really, they’re closer to us,” Landry said, adding that these were some of the “little things” that could be “great steps” to bring the people of the territory “right into the fold.”

The United States has already expanded its presence in Greenland, opening a new, larger consulate in the capital, Nuuk, on May 21.

U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Kenneth Howery was in Nuuk for the opening and said in a May 21 post on X that the new consulate was “more than just a building,” adding that it reflects the U.S. desire for “a strong and growing bilateral relationship with Greenland that fosters economic, educational, and scientific cooperation, along with closer connections between our communities.”

Washington has also stated its desire to boost its military presence in the territory and make it part of  Trump’s planned “Golden Dome” system of defense against nuclear attack. The United States currently has one active base in Greenland, the Pituffik Space Base in the northwest, down from around 17 facilities in 1945 when thousands of U.S. personnel staffed facilities around the island.

Denmark, which has owned Greenland for centuries, remains steadfastly opposed to the Trump administration’s stated wish to annex the island.

A January 2025 poll showed that a majority of Greenlanders (56 percent) favor independence from Denmark, even though the economy depends heavily on Danish subsidies. Just six percent of respondents said they wanted to be part of the United States, although they were not asked about other potential deals with Washington.

Trump’s discussion of taking possession of Greenland has been a bone of contention in NATO, of which Denmark is also a member, amid a reduction in the presence of American troops in Europe and Washington’s criticism of defense spending levels by European NATO allies.

Rachel Roberts contributed to this report.