Donald Trump, 20 months into his second term as president, and with the midterm elections looming in six weeks, is desperate to fabricate a political win as American voters sour on him and his Republican Party's control of Congress.
Trump on Sept. 18 touted a revised security agreement with two American allies, Greenland and Denmark, expected to be finalized on Sept. 22 in New York at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Ending Trump's senseless war of words against these allies, this agreement would expand America's military and security presence in Greenland.
As always, Trump's announcement ran long on bluster and short on details. Here's the part he left out – everything Trump now claims as a win was available to him 20 months
ago on the very first day of his second term.
It was also available for Trump during his first term, when he floated the idea of buying Greenland before threatening to take it by force in his second term after his threats were rebuffed by Greenland and Denmark.
Greenland and Denmark have existing, non-expiring security agreements and treaties that have always allowed for an American military expansion in Greenland, the world's largest island, which has significant strategic value in the Arctic Circle.
Trump's rhetoric about Greenland has been all braggadocio and bombast. That has destabilized America's relationship not just with Greenland and Denmark but across Europe and around the world.
Trump's foreign policy can be summed up in a few words – never trust him about anything.
Trump is calling an embarrassment a win
Consider how Greenland and Denmark described the deal after the U.S. president announced it.
Trump's announcement claimed that the agreement gives America "permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns."
"For over 100 years, Presidents have known the strategic importance of Greenland, but NONE of them were able to do anything about it," Trump wrote in a social media post that was easily debunked by history.
Remember: American presidents oversaw the foreign policy that made Greenland and Denmark our allies for more than a century that Trump cited in his self-defeating claim.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland's prime minister, responded to Trump's claim with a statement that said the agreement would "strengthen the security of Greenland" and "recognizes Greenland's interests."
Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's prime minister, joined in that statement to say the agreement "strengthens our common security in the Arctic" in a way that was helpful for Europe and still "recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Denmark and Greenland.
Trump is trying to sell an embarrassment as a win. Greenland and Denmark sound like they just waited for our petulant president to finish his tantrum about something he wanted but could have always had if he had just asked.
Americans aren't even buying Trump's tales on Greenland
America has recognized Denmark's ties to Greenland for 109 years, in a 1917 proclamation from then-President Woodrow Wilson.
America signed a "Defense of Greenland" agreement with Denmark in 1951, when Harry Truman was president. That accord was updated in 2024, when George W. Bush was president.
Trump is not the first president to sign agreements with Greenland and Denmark. He probably won't be the last.
Greenland in 2009 became an autonomous, self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark, via a new law that replaced a previous home-rule policy that was instituted in 1979.
Greenland was never for sale, and Trump's threats of aggression against American allies were a national embarrassment, even for Republicans in Congress.
A 2025 poll in Greenland found that 85% of the people who lived there rejected the idea of their country becoming part of America.
Trump's Greenland aggression didn't play well in America, either. An Associated Press-NORC Poll in February found that 72% of Americans disapproved of how Trump was treating Greenland. Republicans were split down the middle in that poll, with 51% approving of how Trump treated Greenland and 48% disapproving.
There hasn't been much publicly available polling on the issue lately, as it has dropped from the news cycle as Trump's other problems pile up with his war in Iran, his trade wars with American allies, rising gas prices, increased inflation and his ever-slumping approval rating.
That's why Trump is trying to fabricate a win in New York this week. His embarrassing attacks on Greenland and Denmark have been buried under months of other, accumulating scandals. He's hoping you forgot how he tried to bully American allies but was defeated because they stood strong against him.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on Bluesky, @bychrisbrennan.bsky.social, and on X, @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump could've had this Greenland agreement all along | Opinion
