Washington's military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the Arctic.
READ ALSO: Greenland slams 'disrespectful' pic posted by Trump aide's wife
While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal.
"We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it," he said in response to a reporter's question.
"We'll worry about Greenland in about two months... let's talk about Greenland in 20 days."
The territory's prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said "that's enough now" in a response on social media.
"No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation," Nielsen said on Facebook.
"We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law," he said.
Expressing its "solidarity" with Denmark on Monday, France's foreign ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux told television channel TF1 that "borders cannot be changed by force".
-'Disrespectful' -
Trump has rattled European leaders by attacking Caracas and grabbing Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who is now being detained in New York.
Trump has said the United States will now "run" Venezuela indefinitely and tap its huge oil reserves.
Asked in a telephone interview with The Atlantic about the implications of the Venezuela military operation for mineral-rich Greenland, Trump said it was up to others to decide.
"They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don't know," Trump was quoted as saying.
He added: "But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence."
Trump last month claimed Russian and Chinese ships were "all over" the territory's coast.
China's foreign ministry hit back on Monday urging "the US to stop using the so-called China threat as an excuse to seek personal gain."
A review of data for shipping traffic around Greenland by Danish broadcaster TV2's Peter Møller, a digital investigations correspondent, found "no large ships from Russia or China in the region" since New Year.
"Navy vessels from China and Russia don't normally disclose their position, so you can't discount the possibility, but there are no publicly known observations of foreign warships from the fishermen who are in the area daily," he said on the TV2 website.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on X: "No one decides for Greenland and Denmark but Greenland and Denmark themselves", while his Swedish and Norwegian counterparts put out similar messages of support.
Former Trump aide Katie Miller, who is also the wife of the president's most influential adviser, also drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colours of the US flag, captioning it "SOON".
Greenland's Nielsen called Miller's post "disrespectful", writing on X that "our country is not for sale, and our future is not decided by social media posts".
Over the weekend, the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also called on Washington to stop "threatening its historical ally".
"It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the United States needing to take control of Greenland," Frederiksen said in a statement, also noting that Denmark, "and thus Greenland", was a NATO member protected by the agreement's security guarantees.
- Allies? -
Stephen Miller is widely seen as the architect of much of Trump's policies, guiding the president on his hardline immigration policies and domestic agenda.
Denmark's ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Sørensen, offered a pointed "friendly reminder" in response to Katie Miller's post that his country has "significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts" and worked together with Washington on that.
"We are close allies and should continue to work together as such," Sørensen wrote.
Katie Miller was deputy press secretary under Trump at the Department of Homeland Security during his first term.
She later worked as communications director for then-vice president Mike Pence and also acted as his press secretary.
Comments