Donald Trump hasn't ruled out using the military to acquire Greenland

13:09, Wed, Jan 14, 2026 Updated: 14:26, Wed, Jan 14, 2026

Donald Trump

Donald Trump wants the US to acquire Greenland (Image: Getty)

The US could face a bill as high as £520billion ($700bn) if Donald Trump's rumoured plan to buy Greenland came into fruition, sources have claimed.

Scholars and former US officials came up with the estimate while planning around Trump’s interest in buying the 800,000‑square‑mile island as a strategic Arctic buffer, reports NBC news. Their calculation suggests the idea would cost more than half of the Defense Department’s yearly budget. The scale of that price, combined with Trump’s past comments about taking Greenland and his order of a US raid to capture Venezuela’s president and his wife, has caused concern in Europe and in Congress.

Greenland Residents Reject U.S. Takeover Proposal

Greenland residents have rejected the US takeover proposal (Image: Getty)

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The claim comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance are set to meet Wednesday with officials from Denmark and Greenland, who came to Washington to learn more about Mr Trump’s plans. Their talks come after Danish and Greenlandic officials held earlier, lower‑level meetings with the White House National Security Council last week.

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