President Donald Trump said he’s weighing tariffs against countries that don’t go along with his push to acquire Greenland.
Trump announced the potential tariffs Friday at a rural health roundtable event. The president has repeatedly argued the U.S. must acquire Greenland, which is a territory of Denmark, for national security purposes.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said.
When asked on Wednesday about the U.S. acquiring Greenland, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he’s “not going to give up options.”
“Greenland is very important for the national security, including of Denmark. And the problem is there’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there’s everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela,” Trump added Wednesday.
Just 17 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s push to acquire the territory, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday. A significant majority of both Republican and Democratic voters also oppose using military force to annex it, the poll revealed.
Buying Greenland could also cost the U.S. up to $700 billion — which is more than half of the Defense Department’s annual budget, according to NBC News.
Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans have also criticized his push for Greenland, including Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell and Nebraska Representative Don Bacon.
Danish and Greenlandic officials met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the White House on Wednesday to discuss Trump’s push to acquire the territory. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said a “fundamental disagreement” remained following the talks.
“We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Rasmussen told reporters Wednesday.
“We made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the kingdom,” he added.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
