Danish MP says Trump's claims of a Greenland deal 'not real'

A Danish MP has shot down Donald Trump’s claims of progress in securing a Greenland deal, stating that any claims that one has been secured are ‘not real.’

Donald Trump surprised citizens around the world on Wednesday afternoon when he took to Truth Social to claim that the beginnings of a deal had been struck with NATO.

He wrote: “Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.

“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.

“Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me.”

Trump claimed to have laid the framework for a future NATO deal on Greenland (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

However, while it has been confirmed that Trump did indeed meet with Mark Rutte, the bold declaration that a deal was in the works may have been exaggerated.

In fact, the announcement came as a shock to many Danish and Greenlandic politicians, who, it transpired, had not been part of the discussion.

Speaking on Sky News, Danish MP Sascha Faxe said that the deal the US president claims to have struck with NATO over Greenland is ‘not real’.

“The thing is, there can’t be a deal without having Greenland as part of the negotiations, first of all,” Faxe said.

Referencing earlier comments made by Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, Faxe went on: “I have heard from the Greenlanders that I know - so we have a Greenlandic MP in Denmark – and she’s very clear that this is not a prerogative of Rutte and Nato; they can’t trade the underground in Greenland, or Greenlandic security without Greenlanders being part of it.”

“And they are very clear: Greenland is not for sale, they are not up for negotiations,” Faxe added.

“So it’s not real negotiations, it’s two men who have had a conversation,” she said. “It’s definitely not a deal.”

This assessment also tallies with comments made by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who confirmed that the issue of whether Greenland will remain with Denmark did not come up in his talks with Trump.

"That issue did not come up anymore in my conversations tonight with the president," Rutte told Fox News.

"He (Trump) is very much focused on what do we need to do to make sure that that huge Arctic region - where change is taking place at the moment, where the Chinese and the Russians are more and more active - how we can protect it."

Since Trump first embarked on his quest to seize ownership of Greenland, widespread opposition, not least from Danes and Greenlanders themselves, has been at the forefront of the conversation.

A petition entitled ‘Hands off Greenland’ has so far earned over 70,000 signatures, and spoof ‘Make America Go Away’ hats have seen sales skyrocket in the days since Trump refused to rule out taking military action to acquire Greenland by force.