The Trump administration has discussed offering one-off cash payments of between $10,000 and $100,000 per person to residents of Greenland in an effort to persuade them to break away from Danish rule and potentially align with the United States, according to internal sources cited by Reuters.
Officials familiar with the deliberations said the proposal, still in preliminary stages, reflects a broader push by President Donald Trump to assert U.S. influence over the vast Arctic island, which Washington views as strategically critical due to its geopolitical location and rich natural resources. Greenland has a population of roughly 57,000 inhabitants, meaning such payments could total nearly $6 billion if the highest figures are adopted.
A White House aide indicated that the plan is one of several options under consideration, with others including diplomatic agreements or extensions of existing defence arrangements similar to the Compact of Free Association the U.S. maintains with Pacific island states.
“We are looking at what a potential purchase would look like,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked about the discussions, underscoring the administration’s interest in the Arctic territory.
But the proposal has drawn swift rejection from Greenlandic and Danish leaders. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen wrote on social media, “Enough is enough … No more fantasies about annexation,” stressing that decisions on the territory’s future rest with Greenland and Denmark alone.
European governments also pushed back, with a joint statement from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Britain emphasising that “only Greenland and Denmark can decide matters regarding their relations,” highlighting international concern over the idea’s implications for sovereignty and regional stability.
The discussions mark a renewed focus on Greenland, which has long been of interest to U.S. policymakers because of its proximity to Russia and China’s expanding Arctic presence and the existing American Pituffik Space Base on the island. Trump has repeatedly argued that U.S. control of Greenland is essential for national security, although critics say the attempt to “buy” allegiance could damage relations with key allies and contravene international norms.
