Jan 29, 2025 - Business

Poll: 85% of Greenlanders don't want to join the U.S.

Rebecca Falconer

Greenland's Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede and Denmark's Mette Frederiksen hold a joint press conference in the Mirror Hall at the Prime Minister's Office. — Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede (left) and Danish PM Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen, Denmark, earlier this month. Photo: Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

As President Trump pushes for Greenland to join the U.S., a new poll finds 85% of the semi-autonomous Danish territory's residents oppose the move.

Why it matters: Trump has stepped up his push for Greenland since he won November's election despite the territory's leader and Denmark's prime minister saying it's not for sale and told reporters Saturday he thinks the U.S. is "going to have" the Arctic island, claiming its 57,000 residents "want to be with us."

The poll for Greenland's Sermitsiaq newspaper and Denmark's Berlingske paper found only 6% of the 497 Greenlandic adults surveyed supported joining the U.S. 9% were undecided.

The big picture: U.K. research firm Verian on Jan. 22-26 conducted the poll, which had a +/- 3.1% margin of error.

Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.

Zoom out: The poll was published on Tuesday as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visited three European capitals.

Frederiksen said at a briefing alongside French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris that she had received "a great deal of support" from other European leaders and a "very, very clear message" that "there must be respect for territory and the sovereignty of states."
She later told reporters in Brussels ahead of meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that she had "no reason to believe that there is any military threat to Greenland or Denmark."

Context: Trump has refused to rule out military force to acquire Greenland, though Vice President JD Vance told Fox News earlier this month that he didn't think this was needed.

Go deeper: House GOP crafts bill to let Trump purchase Greenland

Add Axios on Google

Poll: 85% of Greenlanders don't want to join the U.S.

What to read next