Topic of the Week: Trump Signs New Security Deal with Denmark and Greenland

President Trump said last week that he had finalized a security agreement related to Greenland. Officials from the U.S., Denmark and Greenland all signed the deal, which expands U.S. military presence on the island. Our analysts rated media coverage about the agreement in our Topic of the Week.

An article from Newsweek lays out the deal’s details and how it differs from the 1951 U.S.-Danish Defense Agreement. It compares the 1951 deal with the new one, which will allow the U.S. to reopen a former American base in southern Greenland and establish a military presence on the island’s east coast. The U.S. also can expand operations at Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland and establish a Golden Dome missile-defense system in Greenland. The deal blocks non-NATO countries from establishing a military presence in Greenland. Analysts found the article to be a “mix of fact reporting and analysis” with a “middle” bias.

An article from USA Today looks at how Trump’s posturing toward Greenland has changed its relationship with Denmark, as hinted at in the headline: “Trump wanted to ‘own’ Greenland. He ended up empowering it.” The article notes that for the first time Greenland was a “direct signatory” of the security agreement. It quotes several Greenland residents who said Denmark and the EU have paid more attention to their country since Trump stated he wanted to own it. “Trump’s pressure campaign left Greenlanders with something they didn’t have when it began: greater leverage with Copenhagen and Brussels, and a seat at the table with Washington,” the article says. Analysts rated the article as “analysis” with a “middle” bias.

A video from the WarFronts YouTube channel describes the new security deal and Trump’s threats to “have” Greenland “one way or the other.” Host Simon Whistler asks whether the deal was “really worth the two years of fear and chaos that went along with it?” The video examines the region’s geopolitical history, including Russia’s large military presence in the Arctic and China’s growing interest in the region. Whistler says Trump’s security concerns in the region are valid, but the “long-term costs of this upgraded deal may wind up overshadowing any benefits it could possibly bring.” The deal could be called a win “for both sides,” he says, but “the route taken to secure it was almost needlessly destructive” because Denmark and Greenland likely would have OK’d U.S. requests to expand military operations anyway. Whistler says Trump’s comments about owning Greenland weren’t “just typical Trumpian bluster. European capitals thought a U.S. invasion and annexation of a fellow NATO member might be imminent” and were left “hedging their bets against an erratic, dangerous friend.” He concludes: “The final agreement signed this week marks the end of a standoff that never needed to happen in the first place.” Analysts noted the criticism of Trump throughout the video when categorizing it as “analysis” with a “skews left” bias.

An article from the One American News (OAN) website describes the deal as giving the U.S. “permanent control over security, all other needs in Greenland — NO COST to U.S.” The article includes Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the agreement, which OAN says gives the U.S. “the unilateral power to determine and carry out all necessary actions to secure both Greenland and the United States, effectively solidifying American defense jurisdiction across the strategically vital territory.” OAN says that Trump “emphasized that the deal comes at no financial cost to the American public.” Analysts noted that the article platforms Trump’s announcement of the deal, with no additional reporting or context. It uses “hyperbolic and strongly positive verbiage to describe Trump and the deal,” leading analysts to rate the article as “analysis” with a “skews right” bias.

The Vox website published an article that emphasizes that while Trump got a deal, he didn’t get Greenland, which remains part of Denmark. It quotes previous statements by Trump that “U.S. ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” and his later suggestion that he might use force to take over the island. While Trump is touting the new security agreement as a win, Vox says, “Trump’s desire to own Greenland always made more sense as an attempted legacy move than anything else” and “it shouldn’t be surprising if he’s clamoring for ownership again before his term is up.” Analysts found that the article downplays the agreement’s importance while criticizing Trump. It was rated as “analysis” with a “strong left” bias.

Finally, in a video from The Glenn Beck Program, Beck says Trump got exactly what he wanted from the deal and that he didn’t really want to own Greenland: “No, he never wanted the deed. He wanted the Arctic.” This agreement, he says, gives the U.S. control of Greenland and does not allow other countries to build bases there: “Denmark keeps the title. America keeps the keys.” Beck brags about what he says are Trump’s accomplishments in foreign policy and the economy. He looks at politics in South America and says, “For the first time in a generation, the model in this hemisphere is coming from Washington instead of Havana or Caracas.” Beck says Trump has “built a fortress here in our own hemisphere. This president is preparing for something dramatic and different. I think he knows the world’s about to change, and the old world is going to go down the crapper,” but “this hemisphere will be self-sufficient.” Still, Beck admits, “There are so many breaking points here that the whole world could spiral.” Analysts said that Beck “paints a picture of Trump being the mastermind of the new world order and that he is personally responsible for the right turn of some of the South American countries.” They found that his comments are “extremely speculative” about the U.S. role in geopolitics in the future without supporting evidence. The video was rated as “unfair persuasion” with a “strong right” bias.

Want to see if you agree with our analysts? Follow along with our weekly Topic of the Week exercise by visiting our website. New Topics of the Week are posted each Monday. Read the articles and watch the videos yourself, then come back on Wednesday to compare your scores with our analysts. Learn more here.

Beth Heldebrandt is Director of Communications at Ad Fontes Media. She has more than 35 years of experience in the fields of journalism and public relations, and was an adjunct instructor of journalism for 17 years at Eastern Illinois University. Beth has a B.A. in journalism from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and an M.A. in English from Eastern Illinois University. She’s a mom and grandma, and enjoys traveling, puzzles and reading.