The continent will ultimately “come around” to the idea of turning over the island to Washington, Scott Bessent has said
The US needs to take control of Greenland because European nations are too weak to protect the strategic Arctic island in a potential future conflict, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said. He suggested that Washington’s partners will eventually “come around” to the idea.
US President Donald Trump has long sought American control over Greenland – an autonomous Danish territory with a population of about 56,000 people – arguing the island is critical to US defense against Russia and China. Trump’s push has sparked a major rift between Washington and its European NATO partners, who have rejected any change in Greenland’s status and warned that US pressure undermines international law and the bloc’s unity.
In an interview with NBC on Sunday, Bessent once again cast Greenland as essential to US defense in an upcoming “battle for the Arctic,” stressing that Washington would not “outsource our national security.”
“Down the road, this fight for the Arctic is real,” Bessent said. “If there were an attack on Greenland from Russia, from some other area, we would get dragged in. So better now, peace through strength, make it part of the United States.”
“We are the strongest country in the world. Europeans project weakness. The US projects strength,” he added, arguing that European countries had shown they were “unable to push back against Russia” in Ukraine.
According to Bessent, European leaders would ultimately “come around” to accept the US position and the need to remain under Washington’s security umbrella, pointing again to the Ukraine crisis. “What would happen in Ukraine if the US pulled its support out? The whole thing would collapse,” he said, calling the choice between Greenland and NATO a “false” one.
Trump has threatened tariffs on eight European countries opposing his Greenland push as tensions continue to flare. The EU has voiced support for Denmark and is considering a retaliation package of its own, although Germany pulled back its small troop presence from the island amid the standoff.
Russia, which has a huge Arctic presence but is located thousands of kilometers from Greenland, called the situation “extraordinary,” noting that it recognizes the island as Danish territory.
