In January 2025, US President Donald Trump had a tense phone call with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, during which he "argued with her for 45 minutes", European officials briefed on the matter told The New York Times.
The call took place before Trump was inaugurated, but after his statements about considering a military takeover of Greenland and a visit to the island by his son Donald Trump Jr.
Sources reported to the Financial Times about the 45-minute call, which went very badly, last January. They said Trump was aggressive and confrontational, even though Frederiksen had offered increased cooperation on military bases and mineral extraction. After the conversation, the Danish prime minister stressed that the island, an autonomous Danish territory, was not for sale, while also noting America's "great interest" in the territory.
In an interview with The New York Times in September, Frederiksen declined to provide details about that conversation. "A phone call between two colleagues should be a phone call between two colleagues," she said.
The newspaper noted that Frederiksen's confrontation with Trump has continued since she took office in 2019, becoming the country's youngest prime minister at 41. Then, during his first term, Trump said the United States was "strategically" interested in buying Greenland. Frederiksen called the idea absurd, stressing that Greenland is not for sale. Her comments prompted Trump to cancel a trip to Denmark.
When asked by The New York Times if she regretted what she said at the time, Frederiksen replied: “It's a closed chapter.“
However, already during his second term, Trump has again raised plans to establish control over Greenland, which would allow for a military takeover of the island. According to The New York Times, Frederiksen has been in a “nervous balance“ with the US president for several months, trying to convince him that the response to his claims to Greenland would be a refusal.
This week, Trump assured that the US would not seize the island by force. The US president met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and said the outcome of the meeting was “the basis for a future agreement on Greenland and indeed the entire Arctic region“.
The Financial Times reported that the agreement envisages a revision of the 1951 agreement between the US and Denmark on the deployment of US troops in Greenland, which provided for an increased US military presence in the region.
Frederiksen then stressed that sovereignty is a red line for Denmark. “We can negotiate on all political issues: security, investment, economy. But we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty“, she said.
When asked by The New York Times whether she thought Trump was behaving like a bully, Frederiksen replied: “He is very eloquent. Me too.“
The newspaper notes that such calm determination distinguishes her from other European leaders in her relations with the American president. This position makes her popular in Denmark, where parliamentary elections are due this year. According to opinion polls, Frederiksen is ready to run for a third term.