Bennito L. Kelty
August 8, 2026
RAW STORY
The Siuana Arctica sits at the container terminal in Nuuk, Greenland, February 16, 2026, ahead of Denmark's King Frederik's visit. Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS
Greenland clapped back at President Donald Trump amidst his overtures of an invasion — and they used a television talk show host to do it, according to a new report.
The Guardian reported on Saturday that Greenland's government issued a "strong warning" to a Trump-linked company after it showed up on the island with oil drilling equipment.
The company was preparing to sink wells in remote Greenland even though local authorities haven't given it permission, according to the report.
Greenland's warning, written in Danish, reportedly demanded, "All future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority before they are carried out."
Trump this month posted a "menacing" Truth Social message — an image of himself looming over Greenland — and told Americans to "bet" Greenland would be under American control before the decade was out.
The Texas-based company — Greenland Energy — has multiple ties to Trump.
Trump mega-donor Kenneth Griffin, owns a 9 percent share and one of its appointed directors worked on the president's plan for a Golden Dome missile defense system — a plan for which Trump has said control of Greenland is "vital," the Guardian reported.
Greenland Energy's chairman and biggest shareholder, Larry Swets, is also part of Trump's circle, The Guardian reported.
Swets reportedly responded to the warning with a semi-apology, stating, "Our enthusiasm for the project led us to communicate in a way that created confusion."
The company told shareholders that "high-level meetings" have taken place between the project leaders and Greenland's regulatory and oversight officials, saying the discussions have been "constructive" despite the warning from the government, according to the report.
"We continue to be encouraged by the progress being made toward the remaining approvals required for drilling," the company said in a message to shareholders.
The company is also expected to ship 300 containers of drilling equipment to Greenland from Canada on September 12.
Trump's Greenland envoy, hard-right Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R), said that pumping oil could begin next year, according to The Guardian.
The company's roster includes another Trump ally, recently brought on to be its public face, according to the report.
"Greenland Energy has retained Phil McGraw, better known as Dr Phil,' the report stated, "a prominent rightwing former chatshow host who served on Trump’s religious freedom commission, to make a documentary series that will 'capture the mission of these modern-day wildcatters."
The Siuana Arctica sits at the container terminal in Nuuk, Greenland, February 16, 2026, ahead of Denmark's King Frederik's visit. Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS
Greenland clapped back at President Donald Trump amidst his overtures of an invasion — and they used a television talk show host to do it, according to a new report.
The Guardian reported on Saturday that Greenland's government issued a "strong warning" to a Trump-linked company after it showed up on the island with oil drilling equipment.
The company was preparing to sink wells in remote Greenland even though local authorities haven't given it permission, according to the report.
Greenland's warning, written in Danish, reportedly demanded, "All future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority before they are carried out."
Trump this month posted a "menacing" Truth Social message — an image of himself looming over Greenland — and told Americans to "bet" Greenland would be under American control before the decade was out.
The Texas-based company — Greenland Energy — has multiple ties to Trump.
Trump mega-donor Kenneth Griffin, owns a 9 percent share and one of its appointed directors worked on the president's plan for a Golden Dome missile defense system — a plan for which Trump has said control of Greenland is "vital," the Guardian reported.
Greenland Energy's chairman and biggest shareholder, Larry Swets, is also part of Trump's circle, The Guardian reported.
Swets reportedly responded to the warning with a semi-apology, stating, "Our enthusiasm for the project led us to communicate in a way that created confusion."
The company told shareholders that "high-level meetings" have taken place between the project leaders and Greenland's regulatory and oversight officials, saying the discussions have been "constructive" despite the warning from the government, according to the report.
"We continue to be encouraged by the progress being made toward the remaining approvals required for drilling," the company said in a message to shareholders.
The company is also expected to ship 300 containers of drilling equipment to Greenland from Canada on September 12.
Trump's Greenland envoy, hard-right Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R), said that pumping oil could begin next year, according to The Guardian.
The company's roster includes another Trump ally, recently brought on to be its public face, according to the report.
"Greenland Energy has retained Phil McGraw, better known as Dr Phil,' the report stated, "a prominent rightwing former chatshow host who served on Trump’s religious freedom commission, to make a documentary series that will 'capture the mission of these modern-day wildcatters."
‘Has Trump’s Invasion of Greenland Already Begun?’: Experts Fearful as MAGA-Linked Oil Company Prepares Unauthorized Drilling
“Let nobody think Trump has given up on taking Greenland,” warned one professor of European politics.
“Let nobody think Trump has given up on taking Greenland,” warned one professor of European politics.
People walk past a shop’s placard that reads “Greenland is not for sale!” on July 24, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland.
(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Stephen Prager
Aug 08, 2026
After appearing to back off earlier this year, President Donald Trump this week renewed his threats to seize Greenland. A Saturday report that a Texas oil company with ties to Trump had begun preparing to drill in the Arctic territory without permission has raised fresh concerns that his push for control of the island may already be moving beyond rhetoric.
As The Guardian reported, Greenland’s government issued a “strong warning” last week after learning that a Texas oil company called Greenland Energy had begun making unauthorized preparations for oil extraction in Jameson Land, a remote area of eastern Greenland, including bringing drilling materials ashore.
The company, founded last year, has claimed that Jameson Land may contain $1 trillion worth of crude oil and announced plans to drill two wells there—a project that requires approval from Greenland’s government.
The company also has ties to several Trump allies and associates. According to The Guardian:
Greenland Energy has retained Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil, a prominent right-wing former chatshow host who served on Trump’s religious freedom commission, to make a documentary series that will “capture the mission of these modern-day wildcatters.”
It has also appointed as a director a US Navy veteran who is working on Golden Dome, the missile defense plan for which Trump says controlling Greenland is “vital.”
Larry Swets, Greenland Energy’s chair and a big shareholder, appears to enjoy access to Trump’s circle. He has said the oil project is “not related to American annexation.”
A Greenland Energy representative falsely claimed in June that the company had permission to place equipment on Jameson Land, before later saying there had been confusion.
But the following month, residents saw a barge arrive with drilling equipment. A Danish outlet confirmed that the delivery was intended for Greenland Energy.
Following the delivery, Greenland’s government said on July 30 that the company “did not have the necessary approvals from the mineral resources authority” and would receive a warning that “all future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority—before they are carried out.”
Two days later, Trump posted an ominious digitally altered image to Truth Social depicting himself as a giant looming over a Greenlandic town, captioned “Hello, Greenland!”
A day earlier, Trump had appeared on the right-wing network Real America’s Voice, where host Steve Gruber reminded him that he had predicted Greenland would be under US control by the time he leaves office in 2029.
“You’ll be right,” Trump replied. “Greenland is important. Not from their standpoint, from our standpoint. You should make that bet.”
Before this week’s comments, Trump had spoken far less publicly about Greenland since January, when he threatened to use military force to take over the island if Denmark did not cede it. To pressure NATO allies, Trump threatened steep tariffs on several European countries, but backed off after Europe pledged retaliatory tariffs, causing panic in the financial markets.
“Let nobody think Trump has given up on taking Greenland,” said John O’Brennan, professor of European politics at Maynooth University in Ireland. He added that Greenland Energy’s unauthorized activity “is the latest act of lawlessness his acolytes are engaged in.”
Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, responded to the story by asking, “Has Trump’s invasion of Greenland already begun?”
Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat suggested it was possible. “Invasions,” she said, “often start with ‘technical’ projects that justify the presence of operatives and ‘technical experts’ who are also doing recon and advance prep.”
The Greenlandic government ultimately said it “would not be proportionate” to order Greenland Energy to remove the drilling equipment, a decision that The Guardian said underscored the difficult position facing its officials.
“They could grant permission for oil drilling, even though the planned wells appear to fall within a conservation area protected by the Ramsar convention on wetlands,” the report explained. “Or they could refuse and, some worry, give Trump a pretext to advance his imperialist agenda.”
Although the project has not been approved, a Greenland Energy representative said a vessel carrying additional drilling equipment would depart Canada in September, with drilling set to begin in October.
Jessica Berlin, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, warned that allowing the equipment to remain would signal weakness that Trump could exploit.
“Don’t even think about allowing this,” she wrote in a post directed to the Greenlandic and Danish governments. “If you give them an inch, they’ll take 100 miles. Kick them out now or accept that you just opened the floodgates.”
“Like Putin, you can’t negotiate with Trump,” she added. “Showing weakness will just guarantee the next outrage.”
As part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is covered by NATO’s Article 5 collective-defense clause, which obligates member nations to defend one another from armed attack. But NATO has no precedent for how Article 5 would apply if one member—the US—attacked another.
O’Brennan warned, “Europe—you are about to be seriously tested.”
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