Donald Trump’s aims on Greenland are not based solely on a question of national security, but rather on the exploitation of oil on Danish territory.
• Also read: Greenland is “not for sale”, reaffirms Danish Prime Minister in response to Trump
• Also read: “Very angry”, Trump attacks NATO in all directions during the Alliance summit
• Also read: American pressure “remains strong” on Greenland, says its prime minister
The Texan company Greeland Energy, which estimates that billions of barrels of oil could be extracted from this region, is trying to establish itself in Greenland. The latter also claimed to have received authorization to install its equipment in the territory and that it was awaiting its permit to drill, revealed the British newspaper The Guardian.
Greenland’s Ministry of Natural Resources, however, denied that the Texan company had received any authorization to explore the territory, exploit oil or prepare one of these two operations.
“What this shows us is that beyond the noise that Trump talks a lot about – he says: “I need Greenland for national security, to protect my interests”, perhaps there are much lower interests behind that, these are pecuniary and material interests,” mentioned the doctoral student in political science at Sciences Po Paris, Georges Mercier, in an interview with LCN on Friday.
Georges Mercier, analyst and doctoral student in political science at Sciences Po Paris, July 10, 2026
LCN screenshot
Trump relatives at Greeland Energy
However, several major shareholders of Greeland Energy are said to be close to or sympathetic to Donald Trump. This is notably the case of Larry Swets, the executive chairman of the company, whose wife visited Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year, according to The Guardian.
Billionaire Kenneth Griffin, a major financial contributor to the Republican Party, also owns 9% of Greenland Energy shares.
Finally, U.S. Navy veteran Carol Craig, hired by Donald Trump to work on his “Golden Dome,” joined the Greeland Energy board in June.
“If the Americans start to place their pawns economically in Greenland and it starts to generate profits for shareholders, and it becomes a material issue, it possibly strengthens an argument on why the United States should control the island,” underlines Georges Mercier.
“So it’s not just the effects of Donald Trump’s announcements. If behind the scenes, we are preparing a more substantial American establishment there, it is potentially worrying for the Danes,” he adds.
« Obsession »
During the NATO summit in Türkiye in recent days, Donald Trump insisted that American control of Greenland was important to him.
“It’s turning into an obsession,” comments the political analyst.
The American president talks about global warming which will eventually cause the Arctic to become a major geostrategic zone.
“The Americans therefore want to have a foothold there. The problem is that they already have military agreements with Denmark which allow them to do more or less what they want in Greenland,” says Mr. Mercier.
“So Donald Trump, maybe this is just a pretext for national security and what he really wants is to increase the territorial mass of the United States, which would certainly please his ego,” he adds.
To see the full interview, watch the video above.
