LONDON -- U.S.officials are expected to meet with Danish and Greenlandic counterparts in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, amid President Donald Trump's continued expressions of intent to acquire the semi-autonomous Arctic territory despite collective opposition in both Copenhagen and Nuuk. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt are set to lead the delegation to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.In Denmark, "this is the big national news," Jonas Parello-Plesner, a Danish political analyst and former diplomat, told ABC News."If in the first Trump period the saying was, 'You should take him seriously, but not literally,' I think the saying this time around is, 'You should both take him seriously and literally.'"Trump first raised the prospect of acquiring the territory during his first term, when Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed the idea as "absurd." Trump's second term has seen the president speak more aggressively about the proposal."Even from a year ago, I see a quite stark difference in both Greenlandic and Danish attitudes that this is actually potentially really serious and life changing for the Kingdom of Denmark," said Parello-Plesner, who is now the executive director at the Copenhagen-based nonprofit Alliance of Democracies Foundation.Danish troops take part in a military drill in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, on Sept.
17, 2025.Guglielmo Mangiapane/ReutersTrump says US will do something on Greenland 'whether they like it or not'Mikkel Runge Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told ABC News that the furor is prompting deeper questions among Danes and Greenlanders about their long-standing ties to the U.S."Is this who the U.S.is now? A superpower going around, invading its small democratic allies?" he asked.
"That's scary to think of.""Just thi...