Donald Trump told reporters at a NATO meeting in Turkey this week that the United States should control Greenland instead of Denmark. At the same time, he threatened to pull American soldiers out of Europe — essentially using a military withdrawal as pressure to get what he wants The Guardian.

Trump's argument is about security, not just geography. He said Denmark does not spend enough money on Greenland and that the island is surrounded by Chinese and Russian ships The Guardian. He also said the disagreement over Greenland has hurt his relationship with NATO — which is striking, since he was at a NATO summit when he said it. CNBC confirmed the threat about removing troops.

This is not a brand-new idea from Trump. On his social media account Truth Social, he has posted about his son visiting Greenland, writing "MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN" Truth Social. More recently, he called the island "that big, poorly run, piece of ice" and said NATO was not there when America needed help Truth Social. He has also suggested sending a hospital ship to help Greenlanders Truth Social — a friendly gesture alongside the harder push for the island itself.

The story gets muddier. Trump claimed on Truth Social that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had reached a deal about Greenland and the Arctic. Denmark's government immediately said that was false — they do not accept any agreement and will not give up Greenland AP News. This disagreement raises a question: Did Trump misunderstand the conversation, or is he using the appearance of a deal as a pressure tactic?

NATO countries pushed back hard. The UK's finance minister, Rachel Reeves, said Greenland's future is for Greenlanders and Danes to decide, not the US president The Guardian. Leaders from the European Union said Trump's tariff threat was "intimidation" and "blackmail" AP News. The fact that US allies are using words like blackmail at their own alliance summit shows how serious the split has become.

Trump's core complaint is about money. He says NATO countries do not spend enough on defense and lean too heavily on American protection. But he also tied that to other topics — like Europe's immigration and energy choices — in a way that worries allies The Guardian. Normally, NATO's main promise is Article 5, which says an attack on one member is an attack on all. Trump suggested that promise might depend on other political disagreements, which is not how NATO allies expect it to work. He also said the UK's prime minister was no longer in office — a claim no news source backed up and one that contradicted the presence of the UK finance minister at the summit.

While all this was happening, Turkey got real benefits. NATO leaders announced weapons deals worth tens of billions of dollars, and Trump said he would drop sanctions on Turkey from 2020 related to Russian missiles Reuters. This opens the door for Turkey to buy American F-35 fighter jets again Reuters. These are concrete gains in an otherwise tense summit.

What happened in Turkey shows a pattern: Trump used threats and territory demands publicly, while giving Turkey quiet wins on sanctions and weapons. Whether he was serious about pulling troops, or whether Copenhagen's refusal to negotiate means the deal idea goes away, will become clearer when NATO releases its official statement in the coming days.