COPENHAGEN/NUUK — Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Copenhagen and other Danish cities on Saturday to protest US President Donald Trump’s renewed push to bring Greenland under US control, a move opponents say violates Greenlanders’ right to self-determination and risks destabilising NATO unity.
Outside Copenhagen City Hall, protesters waving Danish and Greenlandic flags chanted “Kalaallit Nunaat!”—Greenland’s name in Greenlandic—before marching toward the US embassy. Organisers said parallel rallies were held or planned in Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense, while a sister demonstration in Nuuk was scheduled to culminate at the US consulate, with participants carrying Greenlandic flags.
Uagut, an association of Greenlanders in Denmark involved in organising the demonstrations, said the aim was to send “a clear and unified message of respect for Greenland’s democracy and fundamental human rights.” Uagut chairwoman Julie Rademacher urged Greenlanders in Denmark and on the island to stand together, warning that escalating tensions could deepen divisions.
The protests followed fresh pressure from Trump, who has argued Greenland’s strategic location and mineral resources make it essential to US security. On Friday he threatened tariffs on countries opposing his plans, and on Saturday US media reported he escalated the warning by linking new import duties to European resistance to US control of Greenland.
According to the Associated Press, Trump said a 10% tariff would be imposed on imports from eight European countries—including Denmark—starting in February, potentially rising to 25% by June unless the United States secured what he described as the “complete and total purchase of Greenland.”
The rallies also coincided with a visit to Copenhagen by a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress that has sought to defuse tensions. Reuters reported the lawmakers travelled to Denmark to “lower the temperature” after Trump’s annexation rhetoric, holding meetings with Danish and Greenlandic officials.
US Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who led the delegation in Reuters reporting, said there were no pressing security threats to Greenland that would justify coercive measures, while acknowledging shared concerns about Arctic security as sea ice retreats and shipping routes shift.
Public opinion in Greenland remains strongly opposed to joining the United States. A January 2025 poll conducted by Verian for Berlingske and Sermitsiaq found 85% of Greenlanders rejected becoming part of the US, while 6% supported it.
The latest demonstrations come amid a wider European effort to signal support for Danish sovereignty in the Arctic, including plans by several NATO allies to send small contingents to Greenland for training and preparatory exercises in the coming weeks.
