Trump’s Greenland push revives a long U.S. interest

President Donald Trump’s renewed interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark fits into a long, little-known pattern in U.S. history, The Associated Press reported.

In a timeline tracing the recurring idea of Greenland as a strategic prize, the AP pointed to several episodes in which American officials discussed acquisition—either through direct purchase offers or proposed exchanges—before Greenland remained under Danish sovereignty.

After the Alaska purchase, officials discussed Arctic expansion

In 1867–1868, after the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia, officials under Secretary of State William Seward discussed acquiring Greenland as part of a broader push into the Arctic, the AP reported. The AP said Seward noted the territory was rich in natural resources, including coal.

But the idea did not advance to a formal offer, the AP reported, because Congress had little interest in pursuing another Arctic acquisition.

A 1910 proposal failed after Denmark rejected it

In 1910, the AP reported that American diplomats under President William Howard Taft floated a land-exchange plan. The proposal would have transferred Greenland to the United States in return for concessions elsewhere.

Denmark rejected the proposal and it quickly collapsed, the AP said.

1946 offer came in the early Cold War, with Denmark rejecting it

At the outset of the Cold War in 1946, the AP reported, President Harry Truman’s administration formally offered Denmark $100 million in gold to buy Greenland. The AP said the administration cited Greenland’s strategic importance as part of the case for the offer.

The AP also tied the proposal to wartime infrastructure, saying that during World War II a U.S.-built airfield on the island had served as a major refueling point for military planes en route to Europe.

Despite that, the AP reported, Denmark rejected Truman’s offer.

Military access stayed; the base remains in use

While Denmark rejected the purchase offer, the AP reported that the U.S. retained military access. That presence continues today at Pituffik Space Base, the AP said, describing it as the Department of Defense’s northernmost installation.

In the AP’s account, that continuing access is a key through-line connecting older acquisition interest to the modern debate over Greenland’s strategic value.