Greenland warned of US invasion as politician tells Trump to “f*** off”

Greenland’s leader has warned the Arctic territory must be ready for the U.S. to launch an armed attack, as President Donald Trump arrives in the Swiss town of Davos for tense discussions on the island’s future.

Why It Matters

The prospect of America, the most influential and powerful member of NATO, attacking territory belonging to a fellow alliance member had been—until recently—unfathomable. To do so would undermine the very basis of NATO, which is all about collective defense and shielding its members against outside onslaughts.

The Trump administration has refused to take the possibility of armed action to seize Greenland (a semi-autonomous part of Denmark) off the table, although it has indicated it would prefer to purchase the territory.

Greenlandic and Danish officials have repeatedly said the island isn’t for sale, while the European leaders throwing their weight behind Copenhagen and Nuuk have incurred tariff threats from Trump.

What To Know

“It is unlikely that military force will be used, but it cannot be ruled out either,” Greenland’s center-right prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a post to social media on Thursday. “We must be prepared for all possibilities.” He made similar comments at a press conference in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital.

Denmark’s defense minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, has played down the possibility of Danish troops battling American forces, saying earlier this month he still believed one NATO state would not attack another and it remained “hypothetical.”

Danish opposition politician Rasmus Jarlov, who serves as the chair of Denmark’s defense committee, said earlier this week that an invasion of U.S. troops would mean “war, and we would be fighting against each other.”

Referring to Greenland’s roughly 57,000 residents, Jarlov told CNN: “We have an obligation to fight for those people, and our forces will do that.”

“But it would be a disaster—also for the United States,” he added.

American military might has for decades formed the spine of the alliance, and observers wince to weigh up Europe’s chances of militarily defending Greenland against a U.S. military operation, despite recent pledges to surge defense spending across the continent. Europe has long leaned on the U.S. to provide some of the most expensive military capabilities it needs, including space-based assets and strategic lift.

Anders Vistisen, a Danish member of the European Parliament, shares a clip on Tuesday showing a message he directed at Trump during a parliamentary appearance: “Let me put in words you might understand. Mr. President: bug off.”

European Parliament vice-president Nicu Ștefănuță quickly criticized the statement as “inappropriate” despite any feeling in the room about Trump’s overtures toward Greenland. “It is unacceptable, even if you might have strong political feelings about this,” Ștefănuță added in the video.

Vistisen had made headlines at the European Parliament in early 2025 by telling the U.S. President to “f*** off”, when Ștefănuță warned the Danish politician there would be “consequences” for using profanity. Vistisen said at the time he was facing a fine over the remarks, but told Newsweek on Wednesday but officials had not opened a complaint case against him relating to his comments this month, nor a year ago.

“I think it’s within my prerogative as an elected member of parliament to use that language,” he said.

Trump, who will appear in Davos after his presidential plane experienced a “minor electrical issue” and was forced to turn back to U.S. soil, said his meetings with world leaders in Europe would be “very interesting.”

When prodded on how far his administration would go on the topic of Greenland, Trump responded: “You’ll find out.”

“I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy and where we’re going to be very happy, but we need it for security purposes,” Trump said.

Trump officials say the U.S. needs Greenland for its own national security, to protect NATO more broadly, and to make sure Russia and China don’t get the chance to use the mostly ice-covered expanse to beef up their Arctic footprints. Also built into the rationale, experts say, are the benefits of Greenland’s natural resources and cementing the U.S.’s dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

What People Are Saying

Greenlandic leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in an unambiguously worded statement last week: “Greenland is not for sale. Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States.”

“Europe prefers dialogue and solutions, but we are fully prepared to act if necessary with unity, urgency and determination,” European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday.

“America will be well represented in Davos—by me,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post to his Truth Social platform overnight into Wednesday.