"If we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way": Trump insists on taking over Greenland to prevent it from falling into the hands of China or Russia

President Donald Trump said Friday during a meeting with oil executives at the White House that his administration will take different types of action on Greenland "whether they like it or not," in what appears to represent an escalation in his bid to acquire the Danish territory for the United States. "I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Asked why it was so important to him that the United States become the nation that owns such territory, when it could easily expand its existing military presence, Trump commented that "countries have to have ownership and you defend ownership; you don't defend leases," adding that if "we don't do it, China or Russia will; that's not going to happen.". While the Republican leader expressed his appreciation for the people of Russia and China, and even noted that he gets along well with their leaders, he assured that "I don't want them as neighbors in Greenland; that's not going to happen."

Since his first administration, Trump has sought to take control of Greenland, citing primarily the Arctic island's importance to U.S. national security. Despite this, both Denmark and its European allies in NATO have rejected that possibility, reiterating that Greenland is not for sale. However, the White House maintains that it is currently evaluating a number of options regarding Greenland. As Reuters reported Thursday, government officials have also gone so far as to consider sending lump sums of money to Greenlanders to persuade them to join the United States.