Trump Admin Considering Giving $10,000 To Each Person In Greenland To Annex The Island

The Donald Trump administration is reportedly considering giving about $10,000 to each Greenland resident as part of its plan to annex the island.

The possibility would seek to replace the $600 million Denmark gives the territory in subsidies every year, and has stopped being mere rhetoric to become official U.S. policy, according to The New York Times.

The outlet detailed that the plan already includes several cabinet departments and that the White House's National Security Council has met several times to advance on it, recently sending specific instructions to different offices.

The policy prioritizes persuasion, rather than coercion, and has not seriously included military options, an administration official told the NYT.

The administration has also reportedly begun analyzing the actual cost of annexing Greenland, with officials are seeking to determine the financial impact of such an outcome, including providing government services for the almost 60,000 residents of the semi-autonomous territory.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Washington Post added that staff at the White House budget office is also seeking to estimate the revenue the U.S. would get from Greenland and its resources. Some officials believe the revenue from extracting natural resources could offset the cost of administering the territory, as they include rare earth minerals, copper, gold, uranium and oil.

Trump and other officials have kept the issue at the forefront of the conversation, with Trump saying during the weekend that the U.S. will "get" Greenland and that the use of force is not ruled out. There is a "good possibility that we could do it without military force," Trump said, later refusing to "take anything off the table."

Greenland residents are soundly opposing the move, but U.S. officials continue to move forward, with Vice President JD Vance visiting the territory in late March. Speaking at the Pituffik Space Base on the island's northwestern coast, Vance said that "the story of Greenland over the past 20 years when it comes to security is that we've underinvested in the infrastructure."

The visit to the U.S. military installation came amid controversy over the original itinerary. Usha Vance had initially planned a cultural visit, but protests and political tensions led to a shift in plan, as CNN reports. The White House has denied that the change was influenced by planned demonstrations, instead citing logistical concerns and Greenland's ongoing government formation.

Denmark's Foreign Minister criticized the visit, especially its "tone." Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a publication that "we agree that status quo in the Arctic is not an option. So let's talk about how we can fix it - together."