'Freaked out': Details emerge from Trump’s 'horrendous' call with Denmark over Greenland

24 January

A call between President Donald Trump and Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen about Greenland recently spiraled out of control, according to several officials briefed on the call.

The Financial Times first reported Friday on the 45-minute call between Trump and Frederiksen, which took place last week. Five unnamed "current and former senior European officials" told the Times that the call went "very badly." Trump insisted to the Danish leader that Greenland — which belongs to Denmark — should be the property of the United States, arguing that it was necessary for "national security" purposes.

While Frederiksen insisted that the island was "not for sale," she reportedly suggested alternatives to Trump, like allowing the U.S. military to expand its presence there and for the U.S. to have the ability to extract the island's resources while still keeping the island under Danish control. However, Trump was apparently unmoved by the counter-proposal, with the Times' sources describing the U.S. president as "aggressive and confrontational."

"It was horrendous,” one source told the publication.

"“He was very firm. It was a cold shower," another anonymous official said. "Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous.”

The U.S. currently has a Space Force base in the northwestern part of Greenland, though Trump has been pushing for the island to become a U.S. territory, and sent his eldest son, Donald Jr., to Greenland's capital city of Nuuk earlier this month to meet with Greenlandic officials. According to a 2021 report from Deutsche Welle, Greenland has slowly become ensnared in a geopolitical chess game between the U.S. and China, as it is a significant source of oil, gas and mineral resources.

"The intent was very clear. They want it," one person familiar with the call told the Financial Times. "The Danes are now in crisis mode."

"The Danes are utterly freaked out by this," another official said.

During the call with Frederiksen, Trump reportedly threatened Denmark — a key NATO ally — with targeted tariffs if she didn't agree to sell Greenland. Frederiksen's office disputed the account relayed by the Times' sources, telling the outlet it did "not recognize the interpretation of the conversation given by anonymous sources."

In December, Denmark's King Frederik X notably changed the country's coat of arms for the first time in decades to make the polar bear symbolizing Greenland more significant, giving it its own quadrant on the royal crest. As for the island itself, the 57,000 residents of Greenland have indicated they don't wish to be the property of Denmark or the United States, and instead hope to become a sovereign nation in the near future.

Aside from Greenland, Trump has also indicated he aims to reclaim the Panama Canal for the United States and has even suggested at annexing Canada. During a January press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump didn't rule out using the military to seize both Greenland and the Panama Canal

Click here to read the Financial Times' report in its entirety.

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