Trump says U.S. will acquire Greenland ‘whether they like it or not’

"I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don't do it the easy way we're going to do it the hard way," he added, appearing to allude to potential military action.

The U.S. needs to own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it in the future, President Donald Trump said on Friday.

“We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not. Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Trump told reporters at the White House while meeting with oil company executives.

“I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way we’re going to do it the hard way,” he added, appearing to allude to potential military action.

Trump said the U.S. must acquire Greenland, even though it already has a military presence on the island under a 1951 agreement, because such deals are not enough to guarantee Greenland’s defense. The island of 57,000 people is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, but the treaty allows the U.S. to expand its military presence as it sees fit.

“You defend ownership. You don’t defend leases. And we’ll have to defend Greenland. If we don’t do it, China or Russia will. Not going to happen,” Trump said.

Trump and White House officials have been discussing various plans to bring Greenland under U.S. control, including potential use of the U.S. military and lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters and lawmakers this week that a purchase of Greenland was the top idea being considered.

But Trump, when asked Friday how much money the U.S. would be willing to spend, said he’s “not talking about money for Greenland yet,” though he said that could be raised in the future.