Trump: US Needs Greenland ‘For National Security’

President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that the United States needed Greenland for “national security” after his appointment of a special envoy to the Danish Arctic island triggered a new spat with Copenhagen.

“We need Greenland for national security. Not for minerals,” Trump told a news conference in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday.

“If you take a look at Greenland, you look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he said.

“We need it for national security. We have to have it,” the president said, adding that Jeff Landry “wanted to lead the charge”.

Meanwhile, Trump said it would be “smart” for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, as US naval forces pressed a blockade on the South American country’s oil wealth. (AFP)