European leaders have responded strongly to Donald Trump’s proposal for the US to purchase Greenland.
Earlier this year, Trump addressed Greenlanders with a rather perplexing message.
“If you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,” Trump declared. “We need Greenland for national security and even international security.
“And we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international world security.”
The president concluded with: “We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.
“It’s a very small population but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security.”
Trump has since appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as his representative to Greenland, indicating his latest attempt to incorporate the self-governing nation.
Hey Louisiana, I’m not going anywhere!
As a Cajun, my family and families like mine have lived under more flags than anyone in the continental US.
There is no better flag for freedom and opportunity than the flag of the United States. I look forward to sharing that message… pic.twitter.com/jzXusIljNp
— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) December 22, 2025
Landry recently announced on X that he would visit Greenland to persuade locals that they would benefit from being governed by the authorities in Washington DC.
“There is no better flag for freedom and opportunity than the flag of the United States. I look forward to sharing that message with the people of Greenland,” he stated.
Trump reiterated during a press conference on Monday (December 22) that the US ‘has to have Greenland for national security’.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, criticized the White House’s latest action, rejecting the notion that the US could ever exert control over Greenland.
He wrote in a social media post: “Sad, because the U.S. president once again expressed a desire to take over Greenland at a press conference last night. With such words, our country is reduced to a question of security and power.
“That is not how we see ourselves, and that is not how we in Greenland can or should be spoken about.”
Several European leaders have also responded to Trump’s recent actions, with Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, asserting that ‘Greenland belongs to its people’.
In Nuuk, I reaffirmed France’s unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland.
Greenland belongs to its people.
Denmark stands as its guarantor.I join my voice to that of Europeans in expressing our full solidarity. pic.twitter.com/W3EUn3dAME
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 23, 2025
“In Nuuk, I reaffirmed France’s unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland,” Macron added in an X post.
Arctic security remains a key priority for the European Union, and one in which we seek to work with allies and partners.
Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law.
These principles are essential not only for the European Union, but…
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 22, 2025
“I join my voice to that of Europeans in expressing our full solidarity.”
Additionally, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed that the European Union stands ‘in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland’.
“Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law,” she cautioned the US.