Denmark and Greenland envoys met with White House National Security Council officials in Washington on Thursday as Denmark and Greenland sought to urge U.S. lawmakers and senior Trump administration officials to step back from President Donald Trump’s call for a “takeover” of the strategic Arctic island.
Denmark’s ambassador, Jesper Møller Sørensen, and Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland’s chief representative to Washington, met with National Security Council officials, Danish government officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment about the meeting.
The envoys also held a series of meetings during the week with American lawmakers as they tried to enlist help in persuading Trump to back off his threat, according to the report. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet next week with Danish officials.
Trump has argued for a change in the legal basis for U.S. access to Greenland. In a New York Times interview published Thursday, he said he has to possess the entirety of Greenland rather than rely on what he described as a treaty or lease, saying, “I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do with, you’re talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document.”
The United States is party to a 1951 treaty that gives it broad rights to set up military bases there with the consent of Denmark and Greenland. The administration’s pushback also carried an explicit security framing from senior officials. Vice President JD Vance told reporters that European leaders should “take the president of the United States seriously,” adding: “What we’re asking our European friends to do is take the security of that landmass more seriously, because if they’re not, the United States is going to have to do something about it.”
At the same time, pushback has emerged among U.S. lawmakers, including Republicans. In a floor speech Thursday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski warned that the rhetoric from some in the Trump administration is “profoundly troubling.” She said, “We’ve got a lot ahead of us in 2026,” and argued that “Greenland - or taking Greenland, or buying Greenland - should not be on that list. It should not be an obsession at the highest levels of this administration.”
Danish officials said they were hopeful about the upcoming talks with Rubio. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR that, “This is the dialogue that is needed, as requested by the government together with the Greenlandic government.”
Greenland, home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people, has also faced scrutiny from within its own political leadership about how the issue is being raised. Aaja Chemnitz, one of the two Greenlandic politicians in the Danish parliament, told The Associated Press that many Greenlanders feel the remarks are “disrespectful” and that discussions are being handled “over their heads.” She cited a Greenland political saying: “Nothing about Greenland, without Greenland.”
Chemnitz said most Greenlanders want more self-determination, including independence, while also seeking to strengthen cooperation with partners on security and business development if it is based on “mutual respect and recognition of our right to self-determination.” She also denied Trump’s claim that Greenland is “covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” and said the territory remains a long-standing ally with shared interests in stability and security, under an agreement that gives the United States access to have bases there if needed.
The controversy has drawn wider international reactions. France’s President Emmanuel Macron denounced what he described as the “law of the strongest” in remarks to French ambassadors at the Elysee presidential palace on Thursday, saying everyday people wonder whether Greenland will be invaded, whether Canada will be threatened with becoming the 51st state, or whether Taiwan is to be further circled.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the issue also prompted coordinated statements from NATO allies. Leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom joined Frederiksen on Tuesday in defending Greenland’s sovereignty, according to the report.
Denmark’s government has pointed to the defense relationship and military infrastructure in the region. The report said that after Vance visited Greenland last year, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen published a video describing the 1951 defense agreement. Rasmussen said U.S. military presence in Greenland has decreased from thousands of soldiers over 17 bases and installations to the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest, where there are some 200 soldiers, and he said the base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO. Rasmussen also said the 1951 agreement offers ample opportunity for the United States to have a much stronger military presence in Greenland, adding, “If that is what you wish, then let us discuss it.”
Denmark has also taken steps to expand its military cooperation and regional surveillance. The report said Denmark’s parliament approved a bill last year to allow U.S. military bases on Danish soil, widening an earlier military agreement made in 2023 with the Biden administration that had given U.S. troops broad access to Danish air bases. It also said Denmark announced a 14.6 billion-kroner ($2.3 billion) agreement involving parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands to improve capabilities for surveillance and maintaining sovereignty in the region.