President Donald Trump was confronted with the reality that most Americans don’t support his bizarre crusade to take control of Greenland but immediately shot down the news as “fake.”
Just 17 percent of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week approved of his efforts to annex Greenland, while 47 percent disapproved. Results of the poll, conducted over Monday and Tuesday this week, came out the same day the MAGA president doubled down on his demands after top officials from Denmark and Greenland met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House.
But Trump dismissed the poll’s findings outright when asked about it in an interview with Reuters. He has instead ramped up his threats, insisting that “anything less” than full control of the Danish-owned territory is “unacceptable.” He’s framed the push as a national security matter, while also cryptically telling The New York Times that full acquisition of Greenland is “psychologically needed.”
His plan to purchase the island could cost up to $700 billion, scholars and former U.S. officials told NBC News.
Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly rejected Trump’s push to acquire the island, warning that any U.S. military intervention could undermine NATO and stressing that Greenland is not for sale. After meeting with Vance and Rubio on Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters that a “fundamental disagreement” remained, and it was “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland.”
The Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that support for using military force to seize Greenland is vanishingly small: just 4 percent of respondents said it would be a “good idea.”
By contrast, 71 percent said it would be a bad idea, including 90 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Republicans. Another third of Republicans said they were unsure.
The poll also revealed serious concerns about the diplomatic fallout. Two-thirds of respondents said Trump’s Greenland ambitions could harm NATO and strain U.S. relations with European allies.
Trump, meanwhile, has suggested NATO should get on board with his bid for Greenland.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.
Last week, Greenlandic leaders and opposition parties released a joint statement: “We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders. The future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”
