‘Who gives an s— who owns Greenland?’

Need to know

• Lindsey Graham offered a blunt and dismissive message to Europeans worried about Donald Trump’s vocal plan to seize Greenland.

• “Who gives s— owns Greenland? I don’t,” the South Carolina senator told POLITICO at the 2026 Munich Security Conference.

• Graham’s message came amid Trump’s quest for full “ownership” of Greenland, which has strained US relations with NATO allies.

Sen. Lindsey Graham dismissed concerns about President Donald Trump’s quest for full “ownership” of Greenland, including threats to acquire it by force.

Graham’s clear message came at POLITICO’s 2026 Munich Security Conference on Friday, Feb. 13, after reporter Jonathan Martin asked the South Carolina Republican, 70, if he had a message for Europeans in the audience “who are clearly worried” about Trump’s controversial plans for the NATO region.

Graham, a Trump aide, joked earlier about Martin’s question. “Well, if you’re nervous, have a beer,” he said. “Go see the doctor. Stop being nervous.”

Graham then rejected the president’s bid to annex the territories, which are part of the Danish kingdom — and emphasized the United States’ ties to Denmark and other NATO allies.

Sharing his genuine message to “my European friends”, Graham said, “Greenland is behind us, but the goal is to get results.”

“Who gives a s— owns Greenland? Not me,” the senator continued. “So the point is that Greenland is going to be stronger because Donald Trump, once he thinks it’s his brand or his purchase, is going to be bigger.”

“I think we’re good,” Graham said when asked about Denmark’s relationship with the U.S. amid Trump’s vocal plans to seize control of Greenland.

“I think everybody is embracing it and, you know, we’ll live to fight another day,” he added.

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Trump previously wrote to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storey about his desire to seize control of Greenland and lose the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

In his January letter to Storey, Trump urged the politician to give the U.S. “full and complete control of Greenland,” even though Storey was not responsible for Trump’s Nobel loss, nor does he control Greenland’s fate.

Trump wrote in the letter, “I have done more for NATO since its inception than any other person, and now NATO must do something for the United States.”

He doubled down on his Greenland plans in a Truth Social post later that same day, writing, “NATO has been telling Denmark for 20 years, ‘You have to remove the Russian threat from Greenland.’ Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now is the time, and it will be done!!! President Donald J. Trump.”

Jan. In an interview The New York TimesTrump said his desire to own Greenland was “psychologically important” to him.

Still, reporters questioned why he would not send more U.S. troops to Greenland if, as he has said before, his goal is to deter foreign threats from China and Russia.

Trump told the outlet that NATO territory ownership was “psychologically necessary for success.” time’ White House correspondent Katie Rogers — who Trump recently called “ugly both inside and out” for writing a story about her age — asked her to clarify, “psychologically for you or for the United States of America?”

“Psychologically important to me,” Trump replied to Rogers. “Now, maybe the next president will feel differently, but so far I’ve been right about everything.”

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