President Donald Trump has struck a security deal with Greenland.

It hands the U.S. two new military bases, expanded access to the island's land, air and sea routes, a "Golden Dome" missile shield component, and a clause locking out non-NATO powers.

Whether it's a win for Trump and the U.S. is debatable. But Greenlanders may be the biggest winners – not just because of the deal itself, but because of what nearly two years of bluster and threats did for Greenland's leverage with Denmark, which still oversees the territory's defense and foreign affairs, and for its standing in the world.

Let's start with the agreement itself. For the first time, Greenland is a direct signatory alongside Denmark and the United States – not merely a territory whose fate others negotiated.

"This is the first time we have actually had a seat at the table," Naaja Nathanielsen, one of Greenland's two representatives in the Danish Parliament and a member of the pro-autonomy Inuit Ataqatigiit party, told the New York Times. She believes the deal will set a precedent and give Greenlanders greater autonomy over their own foreign policy.

The relationship that mattered

In April 2025, I traveled to Greenland to find out how people there were responding to Trump's threats to annex the country. As I spoke with locals, it became clear I was asking the wrong question. The relationship that mattered more was with........

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