Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said many people on the island “don’t feel safe” because of President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to take control of the territory.
In a fresh interview with NBC News on Wednesday, April 15, the 34-year-old leader described the pressure as unacceptable.
He said that Trump’s public statements, including posts on Truth Social labeling Greenland a “big, poorly run, piece of ice,” have left residents uneasy even after the U.S. ruled out military invasion.
Nielsen told NBC that when threats appear online from the world’s most powerful leader, ordinary Greenlanders experience the burden directly. “A lot of people don’t feel safe when the threats are posted,” he said.
Trump’s love for Greenland.
Trump keeps emphasizing why Greenland matters so much for America’s security game in the Arctic.
He says that the island is important for military positioning, shipping routes, and resources, even as the ice continues to melt and competition from other powerful states, such as Russia and China, grows.
It is said that talks with Danish officials are still going on, but no deal is in sight.
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Greenland, which is a self-governing part of Denmark with about 57,000 people, has always firmly pushed back. Nielsen said the island is not for sale and that its people want to remain good global citizens and allies.
The government of Greenland issued a guide on emergency preparedness earlier this year. It says that every home should have enough food, water, warm clothes, medicine, and even ammo for hunting rifles for five days.
Officials called it routine advice for any crisis, but the timing was tied directly to the renewed U.S. interest.
Nielsen told NBC News that Greenland’s government has once again urged residents to be prepared for any possibility by stocking food, water, and warm clothes for at least five days.
Residents in Nuuk say the handbook sparked real conversations at kitchen tables. Greenlanders have long shrugged off brutal weather, relying on their skills to hunt seals and fish for survival. But this warning strikes differently.
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Locals are now wondering what would happen if political decisions made far away messed up supply lines or flights.
Nielsen has met with U.S. officials, including planned discussions involving Vice President JD Vance. He expressed doubt that NATO would invoke Article 5 to protect Greenland against action by its largest member, the United States.
That uncertainty adds to the strain within the alliance, especially after debates over support during the recent conflict with Iran.
Trump ties the NATO and Greenland issues together.
Trump has recently tied the two issues together, after criticizing NATO’s role in the Middle East, by reminding followers to “remember Greenland” and suggesting the alliance might not stand with the U.S. in a future Arctic crisis.
The Arctic’s strategic value has grown as ice recedes. Rare earth minerals, new sea lanes, and military outposts make the region a focus for major powers.
Greenland sits at the center of that shift, yet its residents see their home reduced to a bargaining chip.
Nielsen, who became the youngest-ever prime minister last year, said Greenland has not been naive about external interest.
“We know there is some sort of desire to own or to control Greenland,” he told NBC. Even so, he insisted the island would not come under U.S. control.
