New assessments cited by U.S. and British media suggest that acquiring Greenland could cost Washington more than half the Pentagon’s annual budget as President Donald Trump continues to press the issue on national security grounds.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The potential cost of a U.S. effort to acquire Greenland could reach as high as $700 billion, according to estimates cited in recent media reports, underscoring the scale of President Donald Trump’s push to bring the Arctic territory under American control.
The figure emerged after months of diplomatic pressure and public statements from Trump asserting that U.S. control of Greenland is a national security necessity. While Danish and Greenlandic officials have consistently rejected the idea, analysts and former U.S. officials have begun calculating what such a move could entail financially.
The Telegraph reported that academics and former U.S. officials were asked to estimate the potential costs as part of planning scenarios for a takeover of the island. Greenland is rich in rare-earth minerals and occupies a strategically significant position in the far north. The outlet noted that the $700 billion estimate would amount to more than half of the U.S. Defense Department’s annual budget.
The report said Denmark and Greenland continue to insist the semiautonomous territory is not for sale, despite Trump’s repeated statements that the United States would obtain it “one way or the other” for security reasons.
The issue gained further attention after a social media post claimed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been directed to prepare a formal proposal to purchase Greenland for up to $700 billion. The post stated that the Trump administration was moving forward with the plan despite opposition from Danish and Greenlandic officials, and included imagery shared at pic.twitter.com/zqePyHUiUZ alongside the dated post of January 15, 2026.
Separately, NBC News reported that the estimate was generated by scholars and former U.S. officials examining Trump’s aspiration to acquire the roughly 800,000-square-mile island as a strategic buffer in the Arctic against America’s top adversaries. According to the report, the projected price tag has raised anxiety in Europe and on Capitol Hill.
NBC News said Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, is not for sale and that officials from both Denmark and Greenland have rejected Trump’s assertions that the United States would acquire the territory regardless of opposition. A senior White House official, however, told the outlet that Rubio had been instructed to develop a purchase proposal in the coming weeks, describing the effort as a “high priority” for Trump.
Trump reiterated his position in comments cited by NBC News, saying, “I’d love to make a deal with them,” before adding, “It’s easier. But one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
The escalating cost estimates highlight the financial and geopolitical stakes surrounding Trump’s continued push to secure Greenland, even as European governments and Greenlandic leaders maintain firm resistance to any transfer of sovereignty.
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