Did Donald Trump send Denmark a letter about Greenland?

1. The actual recipient: a message to Norway’s leader, not Denmark

Reporting from Reuters, Sky News, ABC and other outlets show the document in question was a private message — described by many outlets as a “letter” or “text message” — sent by President Trump to Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre, not to Danish authorities or to Greenlandic officials ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Norwegian media and officials confirmed the exchange and excerpts were published by multiple international outlets, which is why the note rapidly entered the public record ^{[7] [1]}.

2. What the message said and why it mattered

The message explicitly argued the United States needed “Complete and Total Control of Greenland,” complained about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and questioned Denmark’s “right of ownership” over Greenland while claiming Denmark could not defend the island from Russia or China — text that has been reproduced and fact-checked by outlets including the BBC, Sky, The Guardian and Forbes ^{[4] [1] [5] [6]}. Those words spurred immediate alarm because Greenland is a semi‑autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark and a NATO ally, making any U.S. demand for sovereignty a major international provocation ^{[5] [3]}.

3. Why Denmark felt addressed even though it wasn’t the direct addressee

Although the message was sent to Norway, Danish and Greenlandic officials rapidly responded as if the note were a de facto challenge to Denmark’s sovereignty because the content directly targeted Danish authority over Greenland and proposed U.S. control — a proposal that would necessarily involve Denmark and Greenland’s future ^{[5] [3]}. Danish officials increased deployments to Greenland and publicly warned of the constitutional and alliance implications, underlining that the practical and diplomatic impact fell squarely on Copenhagen ^{[8] [5]}.

4. The wider diplomatic fallout and policy threats tied to the message

The message did not remain private: according to reporting, White House officials circulated the text to European ambassadors, and the president followed with tariff threats against countries that opposed U.S. moves on Greenland — actions that helped turn a bilateral message into a broader transatlantic crisis over NATO cohesion and trade ^{[6] [4] [3]}. European governments and NATO figures condemned the rhetoric, warned about breaches of international law and weighed retaliatory measures, reflecting the message’s outsized geopolitical reverberations ^{[5] [4]}.

5. How outlets and commentators framed authenticity and intent

News organizations from Sky to The Atlantic ran the letter in full or excerpted it and subjected its claims to fact checks, while opinion pieces used it to argue about the president’s judgment and motives; The Atlantic and others framed the note as evidence of personal grievance (the Nobel snub) driving policy rhetoric, a reading that some analysts say signals a mix of performative bargaining and real strategic pressure ^{[9] [1]}. At the same time, coverage varied in tone from straight transcription to explicit alarm about the potential for coercion or blackmail, and some sources emphasized that Norway — not Denmark — awards the Nobel, complicating the message’s logic ^{[9] [10]}.

6. Bottom line and limits of what reporting shows

Factually: the message was sent to Norway’s prime minister, not to Denmark ^{[1] [2]}. Reporting clearly documents the content, its circulation among diplomats, and the swift Danish and allied reactions ^{[6] [5] [8]}. What the assembled reporting does not establish are private deliberations inside the White House about next steps beyond public threats, nor does it prove any completed legal move to transfer sovereignty — those are beyond the current reporting and therefore cannot be asserted here ^{[11] [3]}.