This past week Greenland was big in the news. Of course, Greenland has always been big.Three times the size of Texas, the world’s largest island dominates the arctic space between North America and Europe. Its name notwithstanding, 80 percent of Greenland is covered in ice.
The name Greenland came about as a case of branding,according to Robert Christian Thomsen,a professor of social sciences at Aalborg University in Denmark. Greenland got its name, he says, from Erik the Red, a Viking who came from Iceland and settled there around 985 A.D. Upon returning to Iceland, “He told the old Norse that lived there, ‘There’s a magnificent green land to the west of here. You should go, you should come and join us,'” Thomsen said.
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In 1814, Greenland officially became part of the Kingdom of Denmark. So, why all the attention to this mostly desolate landscape?
First, there’s security: “If you look at a map, you’ll see that the shortest distance for a missile to travel between Moscow and Washington is immediately over the North Pole and Greenland,” Thomsen said.
And climate change has made Greenland even more coveted – more navigable for commercial and military vessels, and easier for mining its rich resources.
“The receding ice means that there’s much more, much better access to oil, to gas, to minerals, including the rare earth elements that are needed for our computers, for our electric cars, for batteries,” Thomsen said.
American interest in Greenland isn’t new. During the 19th century, around the time we bought Alaska from Russia, the U.S.expressed interest in acquiring Greenland. Nothing materialized.
But in 1917 the U.S. did buy territory from Denmark: the three islands in the Caribbean that are today’s U.S. Virgin Islands. in return, the United States recognized Danish sovereignty over Greenland.
Then came World War II.
greenland-Denmark Relations Strained After U.S. Acquisition Interest
Greenland and Denmark are navigating a delicate diplomatic situation following renewed interest from the United States in possibly acquiring Greenland, despite Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s firm rejection of the idea. The current tension stems from statements made by President Donald Trump regarding Greenland, which Frederiksen described as “surreal.”
Frederiksen publicly stated her affection for the United States and its people on January 25, 2026, adding a personal anecdote about a long-held dream of driving across the country. Though,she also indicated that President Trump’s rhetoric regarding Greenland – including his statement,”One way or the other,we’re gonna have Greenland” – has substantially challenged that positive sentiment.
The United States first explored the possibility of purchasing Greenland in August 2019, during the Trump governance. At that time, the proposal was met with immediate and unequivocal rejection from both Denmark and Greenland’s government.
Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, has a population of 56,483 as of January 1, 2026, according to Statistics Greenland. the territory controls 836,330 square miles (2,166,086 square kilometers) of land. Denmark handles Greenland’s foreign affairs and defense.
The renewed discussion comes amid growing strategic interest in Greenland due to its location and potential access to natural resources. The island’s melting ice sheet also presents both environmental concerns and potential economic opportunities related to shipping routes and resource extraction.
