Exclusive: Trump administration mulls payments to sway Greenlanders to join US [View all]

Source: Reuters

January 8, 2026 3:10 PM EST Updated 1 hour ago


Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. officials have discussed sending lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the United States, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

While the exact dollar figure and logistics of any payment are unclear, U.S. officials, including White House aides, have discussed figures ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per person, said two of the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The idea of directly paying residents of Greenland, an overseas territory of Denmark, offers one explanation of how the U.S. might attempt to "buy" the island of 57,000 people, despite authorities' insistence in Copenhagen and Nuuk that Greenland is not for sale.

The tactic is among various plans being discussed by the White House for acquiring Greenland, including potential use of the U.S. military. But it risks coming off as overly transactional and even degrading to a population that has long debated its own independence and its economic dependence on Denmark.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-administration-mulls-payments-sway-greenlanders-join-us-2026-01-08/