Trump’s Greenland takeover would require ‘billions upon billions’ spent over decades for a mineral industry that doesn’t yet exist, experts say

When President Donald Trump entered his second term, he renewed his 2019 vow to take over Greenland. But what started as a seemingly quixotic proposal to purchase the Arctic island has now morphed into an unprecedented threat against a NATO ally—one that experts told Fortune could cost hundreds of billions of dollars, destroy the Western alliance, and yield minimal economic benefit for decades. 

Days after invading Venezuela to capture President Nicolas Maduro, Trump doubled down on his proposed plans for the small arctic nation, declaring yesterday that “we need Greenland from a national security situation.” Accomplishing this goal, the White House now says, could include using the U.S. military. 

Fortune contacted the White House for comment.

“People need to understand that he is serious. He wants Greenland to be a part of the United States,” Alexander Gray, who served in Trump’s first administration and testified before the Senate on Greenland acquisition mechanisms, told Fortune. “How that happens is subject to discussion, but the overall...