Trump pushes Greenland resource extraction plan under the banner of U.S. security
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President Trump said large-scale resource exploration will soon begin in Greenland, tying the move to U.S. defense priorities after a recent security agreement with Denmark and Greenland.
President Trump said on Wednesday that large-scale oil, gas and mineral exploration is preparing to begin in Greenland, reviving a long-running extractive agenda wrapped in nationalist rhetoric. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he claimed that experts say the island holds more easily accessible oil than most other regions worldwide, but he offered no additional details to back up the assertion.
Trump also framed Greenland as strategically useful for U.S. defense in Europe, arguing that any future attack on the United States would have to pass over the semi-autonomous island, where U.S. forces could intercept drones, missiles or other weapons. He said the location provides unusual advantages in time, sightlines and positioning, language that underscores how closely the project is tied to military power.
The remarks come more than four weeks after the United States, Greenland and Denmark signed a security agreement. The pact gives the United States broad access to Greenland's airspace and territory, expands the Pituffik Space Base, and allows additional bases at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig with joint approval. It also includes mineral cooperation and bars non-NATO countries from establishing bases without consent.
Since his first term, Trump has repeatedly stressed Greenland's strategic importance, at times saying the United States could buy the territory or even use military force to secure it.