Greenland and Arctic Policy

At Davos, President Trump said he and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had reached a "framework" on Greenland and tied that understanding to his decision to back off threatened European tariffs. Rutte told reporters the talks focused on Arctic security rather than Danish sovereignty, but European allies, Denmark, Greenland's premier and NATO officials say they were blindsided, that the deal's terms are unclear, and that further bilateral talks will now be set up with participants, timing and details to be determined.

At Davos, Trump blasted the UK–Mauritius plan to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands as an “act of great stupidity,” warning it would imperil the U.S. base on Diego Garcia despite London’s plan to retain the facility under a 99‑year lease, and analysts say he is tying opposition to the handover into a broader “Trump Doctrine” that bolsters his push for control of strategic Arctic territory. He has linked that Arctic push to coercive measures — threatening tariffs on European allies over Greenland before saying he would not impose them after a reported “framework” was reached in talks with NATO secretary‑general Mark Rutte and naming negotiators — a move that sparked a market rally even as Danish officials, Arctic experts and historical records dispute his claims about Greenland’s sovereignty and foreign naval activity.

Former Rep. Billy Long, President Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Iceland, has apologized after privately joking to House colleagues that the Arctic island would become the "52nd state" with him as its governor, remarks that leaked and triggered pushback in Reykjavík. Long told Arctic Today he was "just joking" during a reunion with former colleagues and said "if anyone took offense to it, then I apologize," but Iceland’s Foreign Ministry has already demanded an explanation from the U.S. Embassy and an Icelandic MP called the episode "very serious for a small country like Iceland." The controversy lands as Trump openly threatens to take neighboring Greenland "one way or the other," has named Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as a special envoy to Greenland, and has said he wants Canada as the 51st state, rhetoric European governments read as undermining NATO norms. Some Icelanders have launched a petition—now with roughly 2,000 signatures—urging their government to reject Long if the Senate confirms him, reflecting public unease that U.S. talk of forcibly acquiring Greenland could extend to other North Atlantic allies. The flap underscores how Trump’s statehood and annexation talk is complicating the normally low-drama process of staffing key embassies in allied countries critical to Arctic and NATO security.