Thousands join ‘Hands off Greenland’ protests amid Trump’s takeover threats

Copenhagen rally organiser says ‘world must wake up’ as Donald Trump threatens to seize self-governing Danish island.Published On 17 Jan 2026Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Denmark to show support for Greenland and reject United States President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to take control of the self-governing Danish territory.Waving the flags of Denmark and Greenland, the protesters formed a sea of red and white outside Copenhagen city hall on Saturday, chanting “Kalaallit Nunaat” – the Arctic island’s name in Greenlandic.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Greenland and Denmark say Trump set on ‘conquering’ territory after meetinglist 2 of 3‘I hope they show humanity’: Greenlanders fear Trump’s desire for mineralslist 3 of 3European troops arrive in Greenland as talks with US hit wall over futureend of listRallies were also organised throughout the day in the Danish cities of Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense, as well as in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk.“I am very grateful for the huge support we as Greenlanders receive … We are also sending a message to the world that you all must wake up,” said Julie Rademacher, chair of Uagut, an organisation for Greenlanders in Denmark.“Greenland and the Greenlanders have involuntarily become the front in the fight for democracy and human rights,” she added.The demonstrations come as Trump said 10 percent tariffs would be imposed on several European allies opposing US control of Greenland from February 1, hitting ​Denmark, ‌Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.The US president, who says the move is critical for his country’s interests, added that those tariffs ‌would rise to ‌25 percent on June ⁠1 and would continue until an agreement is reached ‌for the US to purchase Greenland.Protesters rally in support of Greenland in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, on January 17, 2026 [Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty Images]While Greenland and Denmark have rejected the idea of the island being “owned” by the US, efforts to get the US administration to change its stance have so far appeared to fail.