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Topic: Land Warfare Blog Brand: The Buzz Region: Americas, and Arctic Tags: Denmark, Donald Trump, Greenland, NATO, and United States What Would Happen if Donald Trump Actually Invaded Greenland? January 15, 2026 By: Harrison Kass
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A US invasion of Greenland would be a comparatively simple military operation. The real consequences—political and diplomatic—would come in the days and weeks afterwards.
President Donald Trump’s recent rhetoric has revived discussion of US control over Greenland. While easier to dismiss, in the days before Trump’s military action against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, suggestions about military action against Greenland now force a serious strategic question: what would US military action there actually entail?
Why Is Trump So Fixated on Greenland?
Greenland is the world’s largest island—enormous and sparsely populated, yet strategically invaluable for the United States. Greenland sits astride the GIUK gap (Greenland-Iceland-UK), an important pathway for Arctic and North Atlantic transit routes, critical for early warning, missile defense, and Arctic operations. The United States already has US space and missile warning assets on Greenland, at Thule Air Base. But as the Arctic ice recedes, and Greenland’s value increases, Trump is increasingly concerned with denying Greenland access to Russia and China.
Denmark, which currently controls Greenland as a territory, maintains only a minimal permanent military presence in the region. Danish forces consist of small patrol units, Arctic command elements, and limited surveillance assets. There are no fighter aircraft or missile defenses or heavy ground forces. Denmark maintains its sovereignty over Greenland not through force but through administration. And realistically, Denmark cannot defend Greenland militarily against a major power. Instead, Greenland’s defense relies on NATO, diplomacy, and the increasingly brittle assumption of allied restraint.
What a US Seizure of Greenland Might Look Like
Were the United States to take hostile action to gain control of Greenland, it would not come about through a traditional invasion, with contested beach landings or large-scale combat. Instead, US forces would attempt to rapidly establish control over key infrastructure—securing airfields, ports, and communications. Military effort would focus on access, control, and logistics, and likely would not require an enormous US footprint, given the territory’s sparse population.
Resistance to an American invasion would be vehement—but it would be political, not military. The US Army’s biggest challenges would not be overcoming Danish forces, but battling the weather and sorting through the international fallout. Militarily, the operation would be simple and straightforward. Politically, the operation would be catastrophic.
Following a hypothetical US invasion, Denmark’s response options would be limited. Copenhagen would protest diplomatically, likely make appeals to NATO, and take international legal action—but any military response would be symbolic at best. Similarly, Denmark could essentially raise the issue at the UN, but enforcement mechanisms are weak; the United States has made clear that it regards itself as sovereign and will not make decisions based on requests from the UN. In short, the only leverage Denmark has over the US is political—an appeal to the norms of alliance and diplomacy. Force to retake the island is not an option.
A Greenland Invasion Would Destroy America’s Alliance Network
Were the US to move laterally, the ripples would affect NATO cohesion and undermine alliance trust. But NATO has no mechanism to resolve disputes between members. Such an action would raise questions about the merits and value of aligning with the United States, likely raising legitimate questions of trust that could impose significant strategic consequences, forcing allies to question US reliability.
Would the US actually proceed with action against Greenland? It already has access and bases and strategic freedom over Greenland. A formal takeover offers marginal military gain at gargantuan political cost. Overt seizure of the massive territory would almost certainly not be worth the headache or the fallout. So, the question the Trump administration will need to ask is not whether it can take Greenland by force, but whether it makes any sense to do so.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer at The National Interest. Kass is an attorney and former political candidate who joined the US Air Force as a pilot trainee before being medically discharged. He focuses on military strategy, aerospace, and global security affairs. He holds a JD from the University of Oregon and a master’s in Global Journalism and International Relations from NYU.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
The post What Would Happen if Donald Trump Actually Invaded Greenland? appeared first on The National Interest.
Источник: nationalinterest.org