Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Trump's Greenland push is about avoiding a 'hot war'

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said US control of Greenland is a strategic move to avoid conflict.
• Trump said Saturday he would impose tariffs on Denmark and Europe until they hand over Greenland.
• European Union leaders condemned the new tariffs on Sunday, calling them economic blackmail.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says President Donald Trump is serious about annexing Greenland.

Trump amped up the rhetoric on Saturday, announcing on Truth Social that the United States would impose new tariffs on Denmark, which controls Greenland, and other European countries unless they hand Greenland over.

Speaking to Kristen Welker on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Bessent said Trump's push to take over Greenland was not an empty land grab but a strategy to prevent future conflict.

"The national emergency is avoiding a national emergency," Bessent said. "It is a strategic decision by the president. This is a geopolitical decision, and he's able to use the economic might of the US to avoid a hot war, so why wouldn't we do that?"

Greenland is strategically located in the Arctic, acting as a buffer between North America and Russia. It is also home to minerals important to the manufacturing of future technologies.

Trump has recently said that at least part of his reasoning for wanting to annex Greenland is so it can house his Golden Dome missile defense project.

"The president is trying to avoid a conflict," Bessent said.

That project remains in early planning stages, however, and Denmark has never said it wouldn't allow Golden Dome infrastructure on its territory. The United States already has a military base in Greenland.

The spectre that the United States — recently emboldened by its surprise raid on Venezuela that netted its leader, Nicolás Maduro, allowing it to move to open the country's oil industry — could force Europe's hand by targeting its economy or even take Greenland by force, has rankled US allies across the Atlantic.

European Union leaders held an emergency meeting on Sunday, during which they called Trump's tariff threat economic blackmail.

"Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," the eight EU nations targeted by Trump said in a joint statement released on Sunday.