European troops arrive in Greenland as Trump throws another curveball
By: Yuliya Talmazan (NBC News)
The circus is back in town! Trump still hasn't given any explanation why Greenland is important. Europe has reprised its glitter parade of empty support. Denmark and Greenland are the trapeze act but they don't seem to recognize there is no net.
Trump tells us the security of the United States depends entirely upon Greenland. Greenland is so freakin' important that Trump will take the country to war to get it. And we're supposed to be stupid enough to believe that?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Jan. 15, 2026 -- European troops were arriving in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support, as leaders scrambling to respond to President Donald Trump's threats were thrown another American curveball.
Trump pushed ahead with his aim of "conquering" one European territory, Denmark's top diplomat said after a high-stakes meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
The president then sided with the man who invaded another, casting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy rather than Russia's Vladimir Putin as the obstacle to peace, in his latest reversal on the conflict already raging on the continent.
Trump's comments drew new pushback from leaders in Europe, whose alarm over U.S. actions had for weeks been focused further north.
Small numbers of military personnel from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway and Sweden were arriving in the Arctic island early Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would send further "land, air and sea assets" in the coming days in an address on Thursday, after convening an emergency defense cabinet meeting.
Hours earlier, the top diplomats from Greenland and Denmark left their talks with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledging "fundamental disagreement" on the future of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Trump has doubled down on his demand that the U.S. take over Greenland for national security, citing what he claims is an ever-growing threat from China and Russia.
Denmark said Wednesday it was expanding its "military presence in and around Greenland" in close cooperation with NATO allies, a signal of European unity as powers on the continent aim to convince Trump that an American takeover is not necessary to protect the Arctic.
The Russian Embassy in Belgium, where NATO is headquartered, said Thursday that the alliance was "increasing its military presence there under the false pretext of a growing threat from Moscow and Beijing."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that any attempts to ignore Russia's interests in the region "will not go unanswered and will have far-reaching consequences."
The HDMS Ejnar Mikkelsen Danish navy patrol vessel docked in Nuuk, Greenland, in November 2025.Juliette Pavy / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Denmark and other NATO allies have said the U.S. approach on Greenland threatens the very existence of the military alliance, already challenged by the Kremlin's expansionist ambitions in the east.
European capitals were surprised and dismayed by Trump's proposed peace deal to settle the war that has now raged for almost four years in Ukraine, the continent's largest land conflict since World War II.
Kyiv and its allies have worked closely with the U.S. for months, revising the proposal and securing long-sought security guarantees from Washington.
U.S. military action in Venezuela and the unrest in Iran have drawn attention from Ukraine, though it was expected that the next step would be to present the plan to Moscow, with the ball firmly in Russia's court.
But Wednesday, Trump flipped the script yet again.
It was not Putin but Zelenskyy, he said, who was the barrier to a peace deal.
Trump told the Reuters news agency that the Kremlin was ready to make a deal, while Kyiv was more hesitant. Asked why U.S.-led negotiations had not yet resolved the war, Trump responded: "Zelenskyy."
The Ukrainian president said late Wednesday that he was being as "productive as possible" in negotiations, but that he expected more "energy" from the American side.
It was Russia who rejected the U.S. peace plan, not Zelenskyy, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. Russia's only response was "further missile attacks on Ukrainian cities," Tusk said Thursday, referring to a wave of attacks that have crippled Ukraine's power grid, leaving millions in the dark.
The Kremlin, on the other hand, agreed with Trump's assessment that Zelenskyy was at fault. "That is indeed the case," spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Zelenskyy has worked with Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for months to adjust the peace proposal.Clemens Bilan / Getty Images
The unpredictability of Trump's position on Ukraine, coupled with his escalating threats toward Greenland, is leaving Europe in a perpetual frantic mode to cobble a response, said Christoph Meyer, professor of European and international politics at King's College London.
The multiple competing crises and the scale of challenges facing European leaders are "daunting" to navigate, Meyer told NBC News.
Europe's foreign policy chief seems to agree.
The state of the world means it might be a "good moment" to start drinking, Kaja Kallas privately told lawmakers, Politico reported, citing two people in the room. Kallas' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
But it's clear that a policy of "treading lightly" with Trump is not working for Europe, Meyer said.
"What Europeans are now trying to do is to kind of push back, but push back in a way that doesn't overly publicly antagonize the administration, while still sending a clear enough message that there are very significant costs if they continue down that path," he added.
Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.
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Just another three-ring circus with Trump as the clown act. Trump is using the American people as his piggy bank. But Trump can't explain why.
It's the perfect grift that TEA Party Republicans have been pursuing since Newt Gingrich held a phony revolution. All cost, no gain. And the government is to blame.
Trump wants Greenland as a personal conquest. I would bet it all that Trump couldnt talk intelligently about Greenland for more than 30 seconds. The Republicans mainly remain silent as this absurd farce careens along.
contradictory statements.
There is no place to house large numbers of troops on Greenland. Europe can't deploy more than handfuls of troops or they'll actually freeze in the dark. (It is winter in the Arctic.)
I heard General Mark Hertling talked about this - he says Eisenhower was given this order - “You will enter the continent of Europe and, in conjunction with the other United Nations, undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces.”
He wonders what orders the US commanding general will be given , "You will enter the country of Greenland and defeat the 20,000 citizens of Nuuk " ?
The whole thing is a ridiculous, though dangerous, ego trip fantasy for Trump.
Um...I know it's winter in the Arctic. I was stationed at Eielson AFB, AK 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle. I know there's hardly any room to house troops but if you had ever served you would know that the Armed Forces goes prepared. They're probably setting up portable, heated facilities as I write this. And I'm talking about European forces, not Americans
So, yes, contradictory statements. Either Europe is too weak to defend itself or they have the gumption to prepare themselves for the inevitable
As I stated, it is a glitter parade. Europe is too weak but puts on a show of strength. It's not contradictory, this is how post-WWII Europe has done things under the umbrella of US defenses. But now the United States is the enemy.