'Make that bet': Trump insists Greenland will be under US control by end of his term

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump insisted on Friday, July 31, that Greenland would come under US control before he leaves office, telling a conservative radio host to "make that bet" as he revived one of his administration's most contentious foreign policy ambitions.

Trump has fiercely pushed to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic since before he returned to the Oval Office. The globally unpopular move has helped strain America's relationship with its European allies, who see it as a threat to Greenlanders' sovereignty.

A long-running fixation that hasn't faded

The comments came during a call-in interview on Real America's Voice, where host Steve Gruber reminded Trump of an earlier prediction he'd made on air.

"I made a prediction on this program that before you left office that Greenland would be under our operational control," Gruber said, asking whether the Arctic territory remained critical to defending the Western Hemisphere.

Trump responded with confidence: "Yeah, you'll be right if you took that. Greenland's important, you know, from our standpoint, not from their standpoint, but from our standpoint. You should make that bet actually."

When Gruber said he had indeed made that bet, Trump replied, "Good."

The 80-year-old has argued that the US needs to acquire Greenland for national security purposes, arguing that if he doesn't take it, American adversaries, namely Russia and China, will.

Trump's relentless pursuit strains relationship with European allies

The pursuit has strained relations with European allies, who view it as a threat to Greenlandic sovereignty.

Tensions peaked in January, when Trump threatened a 10% tariff on goods from Denmark and other European countries unless a deal was reached for what he called the "complete and total purchase of Greenland," before backing off the threat days later following what he described as a "very productive" meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. 

He previously declined to rule out using military force to secure what he called America's "right, title and ownership" of the territory, though he has since said military options are no longer on the table.

Earlier this month, Trump posted an edited photo on Truth Social showing European leaders being shown a map with an American flag superimposed over Greenland.

While conservative media personality Gruber believes Trump will get his hands on Greenland, traders on prediction markets don't think so, at least not for some time.

There's just a 4% chance on Polymarket that Trump will acquire Greenland before 2027.

For now, the gap between Trump's public certainty and the market's skepticism remains wide, even as he continues to treat the idea as inevitable rather than aspirational.