Denmark's prime minister isn't mincing words anymore. On Sunday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a blunt message to President Donald Trump: stop threatening to annex Greenland. The statement came just a day after US forces conducted strikes in Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, adding to an already tense geopolitical moment.

A Very Direct Message

"I have to say this very directly to the United States," Frederiksen said in a late Sunday statement. "It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the United States needing to take over Greenland. The U.S. has no right to annex one of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom."

She reminded Washington that both Denmark and Greenland are NATO members covered by the alliance's collective defense guarantee. "I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have very clearly said that they are not for sale," she added.

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen wasn't any softer in his response. "Our country is not an object of superpower rhetoric," he said. "We are a people. A country. A democracy. This has to be respected."

Trump Doubles Down

The pushback followed an interview published Sunday in The Atlantic where Trump defended his position. "We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense," he said, arguing the Arctic island is vital to US security amid increased Russian and Chinese activity in the region.

Things got more awkward when Katie Miller, wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller, posted a map of Greenland overlaid with an American flag on X, captioning it simply: "SOON." Nielsen, without naming her directly, condemned "disrespectful posts on social media" and stressed that conversations need to happen "through the right channels and with respect to international law."

Special Envoy Raises Stakes

Last month, Trump appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland, which only intensified concerns. The Danish and Greenlandic leaders issued a joint statement at the time: "You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the U.S. shall not take over Greenland."

For context, Greenland has been part of the Danish Kingdom since the 18th century. It gained home rule in 1979 and expanded self-government in 2009, giving Greenlanders substantial control over their own affairs while remaining connected to Denmark.