Thousands of people in Denmark And Greenland rallied this weekend to protest the Trump administration’s continued efforts to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory, with some taking a new view High globally recognized slogan “Make America Great Again”.
Around 10,000 Danes marched in front of Copenhagen City Hall in defiance of the US president’s pursuit of Greenland.
The protests attracted diverse crowds, ranging from elderly people to young families. Some wore hats modeled after Trump’s red MAGA caps, but with “Make America Go Away” written on them. Others flew Greenlandic flags and held signs reading “Hands off Greenland.”
Demonstrators gather to protest U.S. actions and remarks suggesting control of Greenland in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 17, 2026.
Zhang Yuliang/Xinhua via ZUMA Press
“We must support Greenland,” said protester Susanne Kristensen. “We are Danes, Greenlanders are Danes, even though they are Greenlanders, and we just have to stick together.”
“I want to show my support for Greenland and also show that I don’t like the president of the United States,” Copenhagen resident Lars Hermansen, 76, who wore one of the red caps at a protest Saturday, told the Associated Press.
The fake hats were created by Copenhagen vintage clothing store owner Jesper Rabe Tonnesen. The first batches failed last year – until the Trump administration recently intensified his rhetoric on Greenland. Now they appear everywhere.
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Trump said Saturday he would impose a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from eight European countries because of their opposition to U.S. control of Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.
Denmark, alongside the United States and many other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, is a member of NATO. Earlier this month, Trump again hinted at action in Greenland, calling it a necessary step to preserve U.S. national security. he played with it last year.
Article 5 is one of the fundamental principles of the 76-year-old military alliance and states that “an armed attack against a NATO member shall be considered an attack against all members and shall result in the obligation of each member to come to its assistance.”
The only time this article was invoked was after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, even though the alliance has never dealt with one member threatening to attack another.
But Trump insists that Greenland should be in US hands.
“If we don’t do it the easy way, we’ll do it the hard way,” he said, having already expressed his intention to buy the Arctic island.
Nicole Covey, fellow at the Canadian Institute of Global Affairs, told Global News that although the post-war alliance has overcome internal conflicts in the past, a military attack would be uncharted territory.
“There is no precedent for a true insider attack,” she said. “After all, there is an established norm that allies are not supposed to attack each other if they want to maintain any sort of positive bond. »
European governments are rallying behind Denmark, citing the need to defend Arctic regions and warning that threats to Greenland undermine Western security.
The protest in Denmark also preceded Trump’s new round of tariffs on Denmark and its allies.
Demonstrators gather to protest U.S. actions and remarks suggesting control of Greenland in front of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 17, 2026.
(CLiu Zhichao/Xinhua via ZUMA Press
During the protests, a bipartisan congressional delegation, seeking to show solidarity with Denmark and Greenland, was in the Danish capital to meet with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and other Danish and Greenlandic leaders.
“It makes a huge difference that members of Congress come here and listen,” said Kristime Due, who attended the protest in Copenhagen. NBC News.
FILE – Former President Donald Trump tosses autographed hats to the crowd during the final round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV golf tournament in Bedminster, NJ, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file
Foreign Affairs spokesman Flemming Møller Mortensen said Friday that the Danes and Greenlanders were frightened by the escalation and by Trump’s apparent desire to circumvent diplomacy.
“We’re scared,” Mortensen said. “Especially people living in Greenland, both adults but also young people and children,” Mortensen said.
— With files from Uday Rana of Global News and Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.