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Greenlanders watch nervously for signs from White House talks
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 14, 2026
4 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 14, 2026
4 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Greenlanders are anxious about U.S. talks affecting their cultural and political future, fearing a potential takeover by the U.S.
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen
NUUK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - In a blue wooden house perched above Nuuk's sprawling fjord, Liv Aurora Jensen sat in her living room surrounded by the trappings of Greenlandic life — handmade cutting boards and ceramics, and Greenland's red and white flags tucked in beside a potted plant.
With her husband Peter Jensen and their son Inuk, she waited in near silence in front of the television as a meeting between U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark got under way in the White House, some 2,000 miles away.
Like many in Greenland, which has a population of around 57,000, Jensen, 62, hoped to the high-stakes meeting could help quell President Donald Trump's ambition of taking over the Danish overseas territory.
"I have been sleeping very, very badly, really," Liv said, describing the anxiety shared by many of her neighbours in recent weeks as Trump ups pressure on Denmark over the island.
"I was talking to my sister yesterday and I told her: 'I'm trying not to get a panic attack.' I really have to control myself not to start crying or panicking, and not to let all my thoughts spin out of control."
She paused, looking out toward the fjord visible through her window. "It's really frightening."
'I GOT SO EMOTIONAL'
As the meeting concluded and cameras showed the Danish foreign minister emerging from the White House, Liv leaned forward. "What was his facial expression?" she asked aloud, referring to Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
"She smiled when she exited the car," Inuk, 22, said to his mother, referring to Vivian Motzfeldt, Greenland's top diplomat.
When the broadcast showed the Danish minister giving a fist bump to the Danish ambassador, Liv and Peter stood arm in arm in front of the television. "It's a good sign," Liv said.
Relief was visible on both their faces. "I think it's a good sign for future communication with the United States," Peter, 63, said. "I hope the outcome will be that we continue, as we have done before, that Greenland is not taken over by the United States, but we have cooperation with the other countries such as the European Union, Denmark, and of course the United States."
"We want to be a people and country as we always have been. I think it's possible," he said.
But despite the talks, Trump reiterated his views later on Wednesday that the U.S. needs Greenland and that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the island, even as he said that "something will work out" with respect to the future governance of the Danish territory.
"I don't think they will come here with military," Liv said, then added quietly: "It would take them five minutes."
The past weeks have shifted how she views America. "I have lost some respect for the Americans. And I have lost all respect for President Trump because his rhetoric is like a 14-year-old boy who is bullying everybody," she said.
Greenland's government said on Monday it will increase efforts to ensure the defence of the Arctic territory takes place under the auspices of NATO, and again rejected Trump's ambition to take over the island.
'SOME OF MY FRIENDS SAY WE ARE COOKED'
Their son Inuk, sitting on the sofa in front of the TV, had been following the crisis closely with his friends.
"When Trump first started saying he wanted Greenland years ago, we were like, 'This guy's crazy.' But as the time went on and things got more serious, we were down. Yesterday we were really scared of what might happen today," he said. "Some of my friends say we are cooked."
What his mother fears is change.
"We are afraid that he can take us like that," she said, snapping her fingers. "Our culture will disappear, our language will disappear, and the whole way of living in Greenland will disappear, and we will become American," Liv continued.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Justyna Pawlak and Alistair Bell)
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