US President Donald Trump has ordered his special forces commanders to prepare a plan for the invasion of Greenland, according to a report by The Daily Mail, though the proposal has reportedly been resisted by senior military figures.
The newspaper quoted sources saying Trump asked the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to draw up the invasion plan. However, the Joint Chiefs of Staff are said to have pushed back, arguing that such an operation would be illegal and would not be supported by Congress.
According to the report, senior military officials have attempted to deflect the President by proposing less controversial measures, including intercepting Russian “ghost” ships — a network of vessels allegedly used by Moscow to evade Western sanctions — or launching a strike on Iran.
The report said the Greenland plan has been led by political adviser Stephen Miller and was formulated following what sources described as the successful operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. The aim, the sources claimed, is to seize the island before Russia or China makes a move.
British diplomats quoted by the Daily Mail said Trump is also motivated by a desire to distract American voters from the performance of the US economy ahead of the mid-term elections later this year, after which Republicans could lose control of Congress to the Democrats.
The report comes days after Trump renewed his threat to own the territory. Speaking at a White House meeting with oil and gas executives on January 9, the President reiterated that the mineral-rich island is an absolute necessity for US national security and suggested that if a diplomatic purchase cannot be brokered, the United States might be forced to intervene “the hard way”.
Trump claimed that waters surrounding the world’s largest island are currently covered with Russian and Chinese ships, using the assertion to justify the need for a swift change in sovereignty.
“If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland,” he told the executives. “And we are not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour.”
‘Shoot first’ rule cited by Defence Ministry
Earlier, Denmark has instructed its armed forces to respond immediately to any foreign incursion into Greenland, including by opening fire without waiting for orders, amid renewed threats from US President Donald Trump to annex the Arctic island, Danish media reported.The ministry told Danish daily Berlingske that in the event of an attack, forces must act “without waiting for or seeking orders, even if the commanders in question are not aware of the declaration of war or state of war”.
The clarification follows escalating rhetoric from President Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to acquire Greenland.
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, but the Trump administration has increasingly questioned Copenhagen’s ability to defend the island. Vice President JD Vance recently accused Denmark of failing to protect the strategically vital landmass, framing the issue in terms of missile defence and the “civilisational” importance of the Arctic.
