Overview
- On January 23, the White House’s official X account posted an AI image of President Donald Trump walking with a penguin toward Greenland’s flag with the caption “Embrace the penguin.”
- Penguins do not inhabit Greenland or the Arctic, a basic fact cited in thousands of replies as the post racked up millions of views and widespread ridicule.
- At the World Economic Forum on January 21, Trump said he would not use military force and withdrew threatened tariffs on European allies while touting a tentative Greenland “framework,” with more details promised in about two weeks.
- Reports describe the proposal as focusing on Arctic military cooperation, potential missile deployments linked to the “Golden Dome” project, and countering Russia and China, alongside existing U.S. basing rights under a 1951 treaty.
- Danish and Greenlandic officials reiterated that sovereignty is not negotiable, and NATO and EU partners have warned against coercive approaches.