WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump wrote to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre that he no longer felt obligated to “think purely of Peace” and renewed demands for U.S. control of Greenland, while warning of tariffs against several European allies Monday. The letter followed Nordic objections to Trump’s trade threat and sharpened a dispute that has pulled Greenland into the center of a broader transatlantic confrontation, Jan. 19, 2026.
In the message, Trump tied his frustration over not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize to his willingness to apply economic pressure, arguing that “Complete and Total Control of Greenland” is necessary for global security, according to a Reuters account of the letter. Støre has said Norway’s government does not control the independent Norwegian Nobel Committee that selects the prize’s recipient.
Trump’s letter arrived days after European leaders denounced his planned tariffs as coercive and counterproductive among allies. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has also emphasized that a laureate’s status cannot be reassigned, saying a Nobel Prize cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred.
Greenland at the center of a widening tariff fight
Trump has said a 10% tariff would begin Feb. 1 on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and the United Kingdom, with the rate set to rise if no agreement is reached to allow the United States to purchase Greenland, according to comments from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer reported by Reuters. European governments have rejected linking trade penalties to Arctic security and sovereignty.
European officials say their recent deployments to Greenland were symbolic and coordinated with Denmark amid growing concern about Arctic security, not an effort to provoke Washington. Greenland’s government, meanwhile, has thanked European partners for standing by the island as tariffs loom and diplomatic talks multiply, according to a separate Reuters report.
European leaders’ statements have been unusually direct. Sweden’s prime minister said, “We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed,” while France’s president called tariff threats “unacceptable,” according to a roundup of government reactions published by The Associated Press.
Greenland bid revives a familiar dispute
The standoff also echoes Trump’s first-term push to buy Greenland. In August 2019, Greenland’s then-foreign minister told Reuters the territory was “open for business” but “not for sale,” as reports surfaced that Trump had discussed a purchase with advisers, Reuters reported at the time. Days later, Trump canceled a planned Denmark visit after Copenhagen rejected the idea, also reported by Reuters.
U.S. policy then moved toward deeper engagement rather than acquisition talk, including increased Arctic-focused diplomacy. In 2020, the United States announced expanded economic assistance for Greenland and plans to reopen a consulate in Nuuk for the first time since 1953, Reuters reported.
Now, with Trump framing Greenland as a national security imperative and European allies framing the island as a sovereignty red line, diplomats on both sides face a narrowing path to de-escalation. For Greenlanders, the latest volley has again placed their future at the crossroads of great-power rivalry and alliance politics.
