Trump allies renew Greenland, Canada takeover talk

Axios — Jun 03, 18:09 PM

Greenland remains part of Denmark "for now," Secretary of State https://www.axios.com/2026/03/03/rubio-trump-iran-israel-attacks" target="_blank">Marco Rubio said during a Wednesday House hearing — a nod to President Trump's https://www.axios.com/2026/01/07/greenland-trump-threat-nato-alliance" target="_blank">repeated threats to take over the allied island.

The big picture: Rubio's comment comes after https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump https://truthsocial.com/%40realDonaldTrump/posts/116677910570104917" target="_blank">renewed his https://www.axios.com/2025/05/06/trumps-canada-aggression-timeline-carney-visit" target="_blank">favored jab at Canada as the "51st State." Those musings reflect the Trump administration's broader assertion of global power that's https://www.axios.com/2026/01/07/trump-venezuela-greenland-countries-threats" target="_blank">antagonized friends and foes alike.

Driving the news: At a House hearing Wednesday, Rubio was pressed on https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-nation-secure-greenland-us-davos-speech/story?id=129417816" target="_blank">Trump's assertion that the U.S. needs to control Greenland — a self governing territory that is part of Denmark — in order to properly defend the island.

Trump's "view is that it's a lot easier to defend it when you have control and complete control of it," Rubio told Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride.
He added that the U.S. is in a "good place" in discussions with Greenland and Denmark over the use of the strategically situated, resource-rich territory for collective defense.
A White House official told Axios that the administration is participating in "diplomatic high-level technical talks" with Greenland and Denmark and that it is "optimistic that we're on a good trajectory."

State of play: https://www.axios.com/2026/01/05/greenland-denmark-us-trump-venezuela" target="_blank">Danish and Greenlandic leaders have consistently told Trump that Greenland is not for sale.

Under a 1951 defense https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/den001.asp" target="_blank">agreement with Denmark, the U.S. already has military access to the island.
But Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. needs Greenland.
Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte https://www.axios.com/2026/01/21/greenland-deal-trump-denmark-sovereignty" target="_blank">discussed a Greenland framework in January that briefly abated talk of the U.S. annexing the island.
However, Trump's desire to annex new land has come up repeatedly during his second term.

Case in point: On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra https://x.com/USAmbCanada/status/2061781335199347173/photo/1" target="_blank">shared the president's Truth Social post calling Canada the 51st state alongside a Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-29/canada-dips-into-technical-recession-for-first-time-since-2020" target="_blank">story about the country dipping into a technical recession.

However, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shrugged off Hoekstra's repost, CBC https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/51-state-carney-trump-hoekstra-trade-talks-9.7221755" target="_blank">reported.
Like Greenland's leadership, Carney https://www.axios.com/2025/05/06/trump-carney-oval-office-canada-51-state-sale" target="_blank">has been adamant his country is not for sale.
Carney has https://www.axios.com/2026/05/29/canada-trump-trade-tensions-usmca" target="_blank">recently signaled a desire for stronger ties with the U.S., despite a tumultuous trade war and Trump's annexation musings.

The bottom line: Trump's hostilities and ridiculing of allies has put https://www.axios.com/2026/01/20/trump-greenland-davos-von-der-leyen" target="_blank">historic strain on the country's relationships.

Go deeper: https://www.axios.com/2026/02/04/arctic-security-trump-greenland-denmark" target="_blank">Trump's Greenland gambit thrusts Arctic security into mainstream politics