Donald Trump spent Friday night doing what has become a familiar routine: uploading AI-generated pictures to Truth Social — including one showing a Golden Dome-style missile shield above the White House, and another of him looking out over a Greenlandic settlement with the caption “Hello, Greenland!”
At first glance, the posts looked like another typical burst of late-night content. But the two themes — the missile defense project and Greenland — are tied to the same broader push, something Trump has openly linked before.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!” he wrote on Truth Social in January.
Not long after returning to the White House, Trump signed an executive order directing the creation of a US missile defense system modeled on Israel’s approach.
But instead of borrowing the familiar “Iron Dome” branding, Trump gave the project a name of his own: the Golden Dome.
The plan centers on a space-based network that would rely on satellites to detect and intercept incoming threats. “Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they’re launched from space,” he said from the Oval Office.
Funding has already started moving. Congress approved roughly $24 billion for the initiative as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law last July. Trump has also said he wants the system fully functioning before his term ends in January 2029.
Still, the project’s cost projections have created a major complication. What was initially floated as a staggering $175 billion has since surged, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating it could reach $1.2 trillion over two decades.
Throughout his second term, Trump has repeatedly tried to ramp up pressure on Greenland — a semi-autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic — arguing that US control is necessary for national defense.
“It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he claimed aboard Air Force One in January.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
He also escalated rhetoric by threatening a 10 percent tariff against multiple NATO partners, Denmark included, unless talks produced what he described as the “complete and total purchase of Greenland.” After European leaders pushed back, the tariff threat was softened, with Trump saying he had reached “the framework of a future deal” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Denmark and Greenland’s population have continued to reject any such proposal.