Greenland and Denmark Can Relax: Congress Won't Approve a $700B Purchase

MIDLAND, Texas - Jan. 21, 2026 - PRLog -- Donald Trump has never been subtle about his ambitions, but his renewed fixation on Greenland feels especially surreal. The island—vast, icy, and sparsely populated—has once again become the object of presidential desire. One official says Trump wants to buy it outright. Another suggests the United States could simply take it. Just days ago, Trump declared, "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security," as if the matter were self-evident.

Even setting aside the jaw-dropping $700 billion figure that has been floated in internal discussions, the idea collapses under the weight of law, politics, and reality. Greenland and Denmark, for all the noise, can rest easy. Congress would never approve such a purchase, and there is little reason—strategic or otherwise—that the United States would need to make one.

The irony is that America already has much of what Trump claims to want.

Under a little-known but still very much active Cold War–era agreement signed in 1951, the United States enjoys extraordinary military access to Greenland. The deal, negotiated with Denmark at the height of tensions with the Soviet Union, gives Washington broad rights to operate on the island. Today, the U.S. maintains one base—Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base—in a remote corner of northwestern Greenland. But the agreement goes much further.

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https://fedlannews.com/op-ed/congress-blocks-greenland-purchase/184023685