(WASHINGTON) — A set of recent polls have highlighted American voters’ opposition to taking over Greenland — and even greater opposition to taking it over by military force.
A Quinnipiac University poll found 55% of voters opposed to the United States trying to buy Greenland, with majorities of Democratic voters (85%) and independent voters (58%) opposed and a majority of Republican voters in support (67%). Greenland, though, is not for sale — with Danish and Greenlandic officials saying the island can’t be bought. Greenland is a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Opposition rises to nearly 9 in 10 voters when asked if the U.S. should try to take Greenland by military force, something President Donald Trump has said “is always an option.” Just 9% of U.S. voters say they support the U.S. trying to take Greenland by military force.
In all, 86% of voters, including 95% of Democrats, 94% of independents and 68% of Republicans oppose the U.S. trying to take Greenland by military force.
Notably, few polls find this level of agreement on policy issues — and most Republicans rarely disagree with Trump.
The president is trying to take over the autonomous Danish territory, claiming earlier this week that “we need Greenland” and citing national security as a reason for the acquisition. Now, France and other NATO countries have sent troops for military exercises after representatives from Denmark and Greenland said they had “fundamental disagreements” with the U.S.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll also found low levels of support for Trump’s push to take over Greenland. Just 17% of Americans said they approved of U.S. efforts to acquire Greenland, including a 40% minority of Republicans. Support was even lower among Democrats (2%) and others (9%).
When asked about taking Greenland using military force in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, just 4% of Americans said it was a good idea, including only 8% of Republicans.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll offered a “don’t know” response to those answering their survey, and large minorities of Americans said they did not have opinions on these issues.
Two-thirds of Americans say they are concerned that the U.S. acquiring the self-governing territory that is part of Denmark could harm NATO and U.S. relations with European countries. That includes about 9 in 10 Democrats, 4 in 10 Republicans and 7 in 10 independents.
The Quinnipiac poll was conducted Jan. 8-12 among 1,133 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted Jan. 12-13 among 1,217 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points.
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