President Donald Trump has floated the idea of slapping tariffs on entire countries unless they “go along” with his long-standing quest to add Greenland to the American map—because, as he put it Friday, national security demands it.
The president dropped this geopolitical bombshell during a White House roundtable on rural health care, proving once again that no topic is safe from a Trump tariff tangent.
While discussing how he pressured foreign leaders to hike their drug prices or face import taxes, he casually extended the playbook: “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that.”
Imagine the scene: doctors and lawmakers nodding along about Medicare, only for the conversation to pivot to annexing the world’s largest island like it’s just another trade negotiation over cheese or cars.
The impact could be delightfully chaotic. Trump’s tariff enthusiasm has already jacked up the average U.S. tariff rate to around 17% since his return to office, turning everyday imports into pricier adventures. Now picture Denmark—home to pastries, Lego, and that stubborn refusal to sell Greenland—suddenly facing extra duties on everything from butter cookies to wind turbines.
European allies might start charging Americans premium prices for flat-pack furniture as payback. Global trade could devolve into a giant game of economic chicken, with Greenland as the prize nobody asked for but everyone suddenly can’t stop talking about.
Trump’s fixation on Greenland isn’t new; he has argued it’s essential to counter potential moves by China and Russia in the Arctic, where melting ice is opening new routes and revealing valuable minerals. The U.S. already operates Pituffik Space Base there under long-standing agreements, but apparently a lease isn’t enough when you’re thinking big-picture empire expansion.
Denmark and Greenland have been crystal clear: the island isn’t for sale, and the notion of being absorbed into the U.S. holds zero appeal. A delegation from both met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio just a day earlier, emerging to announce a “fundamental disagreement.” That’s diplomatic speak for “thanks, but no thanks—and please stop asking.”
Adding spice to the mix, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers was in Denmark on Friday, trying to smooth feathers ruffled by the whole affair. Meanwhile, European nations have been sending troops for exercises in Greenland, a subtle reminder that NATO allies prefer collective security over one country’s shopping spree.
The tariff threat arrives as Trump’s broad use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act faces Supreme Court scrutiny. Multiple courts have already called some of his levies unlawful, and the president himself admitted Friday that a loss there would be “a shame for our country.”
If the high court clips his tariff wings, acquiring Greenland might require charm rather than checkbooks or threats—though charm has never been the administration’s strongest suit.
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