President Trump’s recent public insistence that Greenland must somehow come under American control has stirred a predictable political and diplomatic firestorm, but the way he’s gone about it is amateurish and dangerous for American interests. The administration’s rhetoric — calling anything less than U.S. control “unacceptable” — risks turning a legitimate strategic concern into an international humiliation and a recruiting gift for our adversaries.
Steve Forbes is right to tell the president to stop talking about a takeover and start talking about deals; strong nations bargain, they do not seize. Forbes lays out a commonsense, America-first conservative alternative: protect our security, expand our economic footprint, and deepen military cooperation — without violating the sovereignty of a NATO ally or alienating the very partners we depend on.
This isn’t the first time Washington has eyed Greenland; attempts to acquire the island date back to the Truman era and flared in 2019 when similar talk proved politically toxic. History shows the Danes and the Greenlandic people reject the notion of being sold, and for good reason — sovereignty and pride are not commodities to be traded away.
From a defensive standpoint, the United States already enjoys extensive cooperation in Greenland, including important early-warning and space-track facilities that serve American security without annexation. We can expand basing rights, logistics, and intelligence-sharing through negotiated agreements that secure our interests while keeping NATO intact and our international standing strong.
Denmark and Greenland have been clear: Greenland is not for sale, and any hint of coercion provokes legitimate outrage and strains a vital alliance. Conservatives who care about American strength should recognize that pushing for acquisition will fracture NATO, create diplomatic blowback, and hand propaganda victories to Russia and China.
If America truly wants to dominate the Arctic competition, we should double down on technology, logistics, and market-driven resource partnerships rather than grandiose land grabs. Tough-minded negotiations — mineral concessions, port and base agreements, investment in Greenlandic infrastructure, and bilateral security pacts — achieve security and prosperity without the moral and strategic stains of conquest.
Patriots who put country first should demand governors and diplomats who can win without alienating friends. Conservatives must push for smart, muscular diplomacy: secure our northern approaches, protect our troops and early-warning systems, and open the economy — but do it the right way, the constitutional and honorable way, not by threatening to take what doesn’t belong to us.
