Danes mock Trump's Greenland deal as 'status quo' as critics say 'nothing has really changed'
From the Newshound archive · first published 20 September 2026.
Denmark will not bear any cost under the deal, Trump says, as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed the agreement will be signed at the UN General Assembly next week.Trump announced Friday that the US had secured "permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland" — a framing both Copenhagen and Nuuk swiftly rejected.
Danish politicians and commentators have ridiculed Trump's self-declared "historic" Greenland security deal, saying it amounts to a continuation of arrangements already in place since 1951. Danish MEP Henrik Dahl quipped that Trump deserved credit "for something very close to the status quo." The deal, announced Friday on Truth Social, grants the US permanent military access, basing and overflight rights, and bars China and Russia from bases or sensitive investments — but no text has been released and it still requires parliamentary ratification.
Former Defence Select Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood branded the pact a "dangerous step," warning Trump is "splintering" the global order rather than strengthening NATO.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "a huge win" on par with acquiring Alaska, while one national security critic fired back that the only change is "our allies now think we're led by a lunatic."
The deal is expected to be signed at the UN General Assembly next week, but Danish PM Mette Frederiksen notably described it only as the "prospect of a good agreement," not a done deal.
