President Donald Trump reiterated on "The Vince Show" podcast Wednesday his contention that the United States needs to control Greenland for international security reasons.
Trump said Vice President J.D. Vance is joining a delegation visiting Greenland this week with a mission to "to let them know that we need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it ... and we are going to have it."
Asked if the people of Greenland are "eager" to become U.S. citizens, Trump said he didn’t know.
"But I think that we have to do it, and we have to convince them and we have to have that land because it is not possible to properly defend a large section of the Earth, not just the United States, without it," he said. "So we have to have it, and I think we will have it."
Trump irked much of Europe by suggesting the United States should in some form control the self-governing, mineral-rich territory of Denmark, a U.S. ally and NATO member. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.