Donald Trump Says He Wants 'Ownership' of Greenland Because It's 'Psychologically Important for Me'

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During a two-hour sit-down with multiple Times reporters on Jan. 7, Trump was questioned about why he won't just send more American troops to Greenland — which is legal under a Cold War–era agreement — if his goal is to fend off foreign threats. The president replied by saying that he won't feel comfortable unless he owns the island.

"Why is ownership important here?" Times national security correspondent David E. Sanger asked.

"Because that’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success," Trump, 79, replied. "I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do, whether you’re talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document, that you can have a base."

White House correspondent Katie Rogers — whom Trump recently called "ugly, both inside and out" for writing a story about his age — chimed in to ask, "Psychologically important to you or to the United States?"

“Psychologically important for me," Trump answered. "Now, maybe another president would feel differently, but so far I’ve been right about everything."

Trump also told the Times that he isn’t opposed to using nuclear force if he “needed it” to take over the Arctic island but that “it might upset NATO," since the island is a self-governing territory of NATO member country Denmark.

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“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Trump [said].

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The U.S. president — who claims he now "runs" Venezuela [...] and has since threatened additional nations — told the paper in an article published on Jan. 8 that just "one thing" stands in the way of him and world dominance.

"My own morality. My own mind," he said. "It’s the only thing that can stop me.”