Over the past weekend, Donald Trump issued the following statement:
“BREAKING NEWS: I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns. There will be NO COST to the United States!”
But wait. Before you add Greenland to the list of U.S. territories, check out what the agreement that was signed yesterday actually says.
It does allow the U.S. to establish new military defense installations in Greenland. It also grants the U.S. permanent basing, overflight, and structural access rights with no expiration — even if Greenland were to achieve independence from Denmark in the future.
But guess what? Under the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement, those rights already exist.
One of Trump’s stated goals in seeking hegemony over Greenland has been to protect it against any potential incursions by Russia and/or China. But, as also set out in the 1951 Agreement, non-NATO countries are already banned from establishing military installations or conducting sensitive investments in Greenland that might threaten U.S. security. [Reddit, September 22, 2026.] So, again, a non-issue.
And, most importantly, the 2026 Agreement dashes any hope Trump had of actually exercising “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland.” Conversely, it explicitly recognizes Danish sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Greenland’s right to self-determination. [Wall Street Journal, September 22, 2026.]
Sorry, old boy. You lose again.
As for his claim that our “new” relationship with Greenland will be at “NO COST to the United States,” one has to wonder who he thinks is going to pay for all of those new military installations. Greenland? The way Mexico paid for his border wall, I suppose.
By the way, it also seems to have escaped his attention that the exclusion of non-NATO nations under the Agreement also makes it impossible for him to withdraw the U.S. from NATO membership, as he has frequently threatened to do, without sacrificing our own contractual rights in Greenland.
Checkmate.
In short, once again the hype has turned out to be just that. No doubt he will tout the agreement as a great victory, when in fact he has been outsmarted yet again by a much smaller country with much smarter leaders.
You would think he’d have learned something from a lifetime of mistakes and failures. But that would require two attributes he simply does not possess: intelligence and humility. And as long as he remains in office, that is our cross to bear.
Just sayin’ . . .
Brendochka
9/23/26
