On Friday night, Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, revealed to Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade that he warned Denmark, a fellow member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), that if the United States doesn’t take ownership of Greenland soon, it could become independent from the Danes and then “Denmark gets nothing.”
Newsweek reached out to Cruz’s office and Denmark’s foreign affairs ministry via email for comment on Sunday morning.
Why It Matters
Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to take ownership of Greenland—an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark—even before he took office. In late December 2024, Trump said while naming PayPal cofounder Ken Howery as his choice for ambassador to Denmark, “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
However, Denmark and Greenland have pushed back on Trump’s demands, causing tensions between the U.S., Demark, Greenland and other European countries. Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said in late December 2024, “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”
Denmark is an ally of the U.S., supporting the nation in the War on Terror when the U.S. invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, experts have said Greenland is becoming increasingly important to U.S. security interests due to its position in the Arctic.
What To Know
During his appearance on One Nation, Kilmeade asked Cruz about Trump’s desire to own Greenland.
“There are strong national security and economic reasons why it makes a lot of sense,” Cruz said. “If you look at Greenland geopolitically, it is located right on the Arctic. If, God forbid, we got into a military conflict with Russia or with China, ICBMs [intercontinental ballistic missiles] would come right over the Arctic and Greenland is ideally positioned to defend the United States of America.”
The senator added: “Greenland has abundant rare earth minerals and critical minerals that are essential for all of the technology, all of the weaponry that we need. If Greenland were to become a territory, America would invest billions and billions of dollars into developing those resources. That helps America.”
Cruz has already made preliminary moves in the attempt to acquire Greenland. He told Kilmeade that he led a hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee this week to examine all the benefits to America, Greenland and Denmark that would come with U.S. ownership of the autonomous territory.
Cruz said he has also met with the Greenlandic and the Danish ambassadors.
The senator said of the Danish ambassador: “They were upset, and they were offended, and they said, ‘Greenland is not for sale.’ And I laughed and I said, ‘You know what? Everything’s for sale.'”
He said that he warned Denmark, ever since Trump began talking about wanting to take ownership of Greenland, “the Greenland independence movement has been growing in momentum. And if Greenland declares itself independent of you, Denmark gets nothing.”
Cruz continued to sell the idea of U.S. ownership of Greenland, saying it would be economically beneficial for Denmark and Greenland. He also said, “If Greenland became an American territory, they would become American citizens. That is an incredibly valuable inducement.”
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
What People Are Saying
Call To Activism—a group founded by attorney Joe Gallina “to monitor and stop the Trump Administration from violating our rights,” according to its X, formerly Twitter, bio—posted on Friday night: “Ted Cruz completely humiliates himself with a self own after he says he ‘met with Danish Ambassador this past week…they said Greenland is not for sale. I said, ‘Everything is for sale.'”
“Cancun Cruz is obviously for sale too,” the group said, a callback to criticism that Cruz faced after he flew to Cancun during a severe winter storm that hit Texas in February 2021.
At the time, Cruz said he flew down to Cancun to chaperone his daughters on the flight and then quickly returned back. He called it “a mistake,” but said he was “trying to be a dad.”
What Happens Next?
Cruz brought up the idea of a referendum in Greenland to allow for U.S. ownership during his Fox News interview on Friday night.
“I think, for this to happen, you would have to have a referendum in Greenland, and I think, the Greenlanders, if they saw those benefits, there’s a very good chance they would vote, ‘hell yes, I want to be an American,'” the senator said.
