As President Donald Trump escalates his efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark, the latest national polls reveal that most Americans oppose taking over the massive and crucially strategic island that lies between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
Trump is holding crucial talks Wednesday on Greenland with NATO allies during a quick stop in Davos, Switzerland.
On the eve of his trip, the president said there is ‘no going back’ on his efforts to take over Greenland. Asked at a White House news conference how far he’d go to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory, Trump said: ‘You’ll find out.’ The president has also threatened tariffs against NATO members.
In his speech at Davos, the president said: ‘I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.’ But Trump added, ‘I don’t want to use force.’
But Trump’s moves are facing opposition from Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill, and the most recent surveys suggest there’s little appetite among Americans to take over the island.
Eighty-six percent of voters nationwide questioned in a Quinnipiac University poll released last week said they would oppose military action to take over Greenland.
That includes 95% of Democrats, 94% of Independents and even more than two-thirds (68%) of Republicans surveyed by Quinnipiac Jan. 8-12.
Three-quarters of Americans questioned in a CNN poll conducted at the same time said they opposed a U.S. takeover of Greenland. Ninety-four percent of Democrats and eight in 10 Independents said they would oppose such a move, with Republicans split 50%-50%.
Separately, only 14% surveyed in a CBS News poll conducted Jan. 14–16 said they would approve the use of military force to take the island.
Meanwhile, by a 55%-37% margin, voters questioned in the Quinnipiac survey said they opposed any U.S. effort to try and buy Greenland.
But there’s a stark political divide on this question, with the vast majority of Democrats and nearly six in 10 Independents opposed to buying Greenland, and more than two-thirds of Republicans supporting such efforts.
Trump has said in social media posts that ‘The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of national security,’ and that ‘anything less’ than U.S. control of the island is ‘unacceptable.’
But the president’s push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland is causing massive tensions with Denmark and other NATO nations.