Trump: U.S. Will ‘Do Something On Greenland Whether They Like It Or Not’

President Donald Trump made his intentions to acquire Greenland even more clear on Friday, arguing that the territory is important to fighting back against Russian and Chinese aggression.

Trump said the United States would take control of Greenland the “easy way” — by making a deal — or the “hard way,” which he didn’t elaborate on. The president made the comments on Greenland while taking questions from reporters at the White House during a roundtable with oil executives that focused on rejuvenating Venezuela’s oil industry.

“Right now, we are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland,” Trump said. “And we’re not going to have Russia or china as a neighbor.”

“I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” he added.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this week that the U.S. military “is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal” when discussing the national security importance of Greenland. Trump has suggested at times throughout his second term that the United States should take over Greenland, but following his recent move on Venezuela, the president has made Greenland a major focus of his foreign policy plans.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that the threat of Trump using military force on Greenland is important to his negotiating strategy. Rubio added that Trump prefers to purchase Greenland from Denmark, which oversees the autonomous territory and is a NATO ally.

After Trump revived his push for Greenland, the territory’s leaders, along with Denmark, pushed back and requested a meeting with Rubio.

“The strong request for a meeting is related to the U.S.’s claims about our country,” said Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeld, according to ABC News. “Unfortunately, our country’s request for a meeting for a long time has not been successful, although this has been repeatedly requested by our country.”

Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen also requested to meet with Rubio, and the U.S. secretary of State plans to meet with Denmark officials next week, ABC News reported.

European nations and Canada have expressed concern after Trump revived talk about taking over Greenland. In a joint statement from France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark, European leaders said that “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.” Canada and the Netherlands also endorsed the statement, Reuters reported.

Trump told reporters on Sunday that the United States needs “Greenland from the standpoint of national security and the European Union needs us to have it and they know that.” Trump’s adviser, Stephen Miller, then said on Monday, “Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”

Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), have also pushed back on the idea of the U.S. military being used to acquire Greenland. Johnson said, “I don’t think it’s appropriate,” while Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said that “even a modestly intelligent ninth grader knows that to invade Greenland would be weapons-grade stupid.”

“Now, President Trump is not weapons-grade stupid, nor is Marco Rubio. They do not plan to invade Greenland,” Kennedy added.