After the weekend's new threat against Greenland, Trump reiterated the comments on Monday night.
"We need Greenland from a national security perspective, Denmark can't handle it," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The statement has received sharp responses from European leaders, but on Monday evening, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen toned down the rhetoric somewhat at a press conference.
"After what has happened in recent days, I understand the concern," he said, "but Greenland is not Venezuela and the dialogue with the US is conducted in a good tone."
"We are open to dialogue. We want to resume the good cooperation we have had with the United States and have looked at how we could deepen it."
A day earlier, he had written on social media that enough was enough with the rhetoric. "No more pressure. No more hints. No more fantasies about annexation."
Boundaries must be respected
Mette Frederiksen said at her press conference that Denmark has full support from Europe and that borders must be respected.
"If the American president considers this a serious issue, then we are in a very serious situation," she said.
"You can't just go in and take over part of another country's territory."
Frederiksen did not explain in more detail what she meant by "everything else" ending if the US were to attack Denmark, but according to DR, Danish political experts interpret the words as meaning she cannot imagine an American armed intervention against Denmark.
On Sunday, she urged the US in a statement to stop threatening a historically close ally that "has made it very clear that it is not for sale," and she also emphasized that Greenland is part of NATO and is therefore covered by the alliance's security guarantees.
“Universal principles”
The European Commission announces that it expects its partners to adhere to the principle of territorial integrity.
"The EU will continue to uphold the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders," Commission foreign policy spokesperson Anitta Hipper said.
"These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them, especially if the territorial integrity of a Member State in the European Union is questioned," she said.
