‘Will FOREVER have complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland’ — Trump announces US-Denmark deal

President Donald Trump announced on Friday a new deal between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland that will grant the US a major military presence on the island with no expiration date. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump stated that American adversaries will be unable to establish bases without US approval, and that the agreement would enable the US to do "what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America."

The US-Denmark agreement allows for an increase in US military presence in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, although it falls short of Trump's goal of acquiring the island completely. The US already holds near-total overflight and basing rights in Greenland under a 1951 treaty, according to Reuters. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, called the deal "permanent and complete" in addressing Washington's national security concerns regarding the island, stating that only the US and its allies would be allowed to make sensitive investments.

In a statement, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen acknowledged that the agreement recognizes Greenland's interests in international cooperation, saying "this benefits us all." The extent of the US-Denmark deal remains unclear, including whether new US bases would be constructed, but former Pentagon official Imran Bayoumi, now with the Atlantic Council, suggested that Washington could achieve many of these objectives through diplomacy and dialogue without straining the broader US-NATO relationship.