Yesterday, foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland visited the White House, where they met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The ministers (Lars Lokke Rasmussen of Denmark and Vivian Motzfeldt of Greenland) were there because of President Donald Trump\u2019s most recent obsession: gaining U.S. control of Greenland. <\/p>\n
Greenland is an autonomous territory within Denmark. This CNN story has a helpful rundown of the island\u2019s historic relationship with the U.S.\u2014including past American efforts to gain control<\/a>. Trump seems to believe that U.S. control of Greenland is essential for national security and that only the U.S. can fend off Russia or China. The island\u2019s location makes it ideal<\/a> for early missile detection, and it\u2019s also home to significant natural resources. \u201cThere\u2019s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there\u2019s everything we can do,\u201d Trump told reporters<\/a> yesterday. \u201cYou found that out last week with Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n While Denmark\u2019s and Greenland\u2019s foreign ministers were in Washington, Denmark\u2019s prime minister Mette Frederiksen was back home resisting this idea, alongside Greenland\u2019s premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Frederiksen leads the Social Democrats and has been Denmark\u2019s prime minister since 2019.<\/p>\n She wrote in a post on Facebook<\/a> today that she was briefed on the White House meeting, which was \u201cnot easy.\u201d She said there is a \u201cfundamental disagreement\u201d over Greenland\u2019s future and Denmark will \u201ccontinue our efforts to prevent [U.S. takeover] from becoming a reality.\u201d As for Trump\u2019s concerns, she emphasized that Greenland\u2019s security is a priority of the entire NATO alliance, alongside Denmark, and that she is establishing a working group to strengthen security in the Arctic.<\/p>\n This episode makes Frederiksen, 48, the latest female world leader to tangle with Trump, joining a list that includes Mexico\u2019s Claudia Sheinbaum (who went from negotiating with Trump on tariffs, to responding to U.S. intervention in Venezuela and efforts to use the U.S. military against drug cartels<\/a> in Mexico), Japan\u2019s Sanae Takaichi<\/a>, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.<\/p>\n Frederiksen is doing so under less-than-ideal circumstances. She\u2019s not a new leader coming to power, eager to set a fresh tone; she\u2019s not trying to curry favor on economic policy or tariffs. Instead, she\u2019s up against one of Trump\u2019s personal passions, one that invokes centuries of complex history, global security, questions about the future of NATO, and the future of the U.S. as a global superpower. <\/p>\n Typically, Denmark and the U.S. enjoy a close relationship. Yet Trump\u2019s interest in Greenland dates back to at least 2019, when he made an unsuccessful offer to buy the island. For its part, Greenland has recently been interested in independence from Denmark\u2014but now says it chooses Denmark over the U.S. and any talk of independence is on hold. <\/p>\n At home, Frederiksen had an approval rating<\/a> of about 40% in December. It\u2019s possible going up against Trump could boost Danes\u2019 view of her leadership. The PM said that Denmark\u2019s Parliament will be further briefed on the situation tomorrow. I know I\u2019ll be watching to see what she does next.<\/p>\n Emma Hinchliffe The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune\u2019s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n ALSO IN THE HEADLINES<\/p>\n X will stop Grok from undressing real women\u2014in some jurisdictions. Anywhere such content is illegal, X now says it will “geoblock the ability of all users to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire.”\u00a0Washington Post<\/a><\/p>\n Labor negotiations in women’s sports are looking rocky right now. The WNBA doesn’t have a collective-bargaining agreement<\/a> with players, and is still negotiating after the old agreement expired. Meanwhile, the NWSL players’ union says a recent “high-impact player” rule intended to keep stars in the U.S. violated their agreement\u2014and should be rescinded<\/a> immediately.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Jane Fraser is judging on results, not effort.\u00a0The Citi CEO wrote a memo to employees warning of job cuts, telling her workforce that the “bar is raised” and that she expects to see “old, bad habits fall away” at the bank. Bloomberg<\/a><\/p>\n Anti-abortion activists aren’t thrilled with Trump.\u00a0Some groups are threatening to withhold their support in the midterms.\u00a0Politico<\/a><\/p>\n ON MY RADAR<\/p>\n Kristen Stewart’s extraordinary directorial debut\u00a0New Yorker<\/a><\/p>\n Audrey Hobert scripted it all\u00a0Vulture<\/a><\/p>\n Helena Moreno and the New Orleans comeback everyone is watching Politico<\/a><\/p>\n PARTING WORDS<\/p>\n “To put a woman at the helm of such power, it rides on the rails of a different sensibility \u2014 the empathy and the listening and the patience and the softness.”<\/p>\n
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com<\/a><\/p>\n