Trump post showing Iceland and Greenland as part of the US 'completely inappropriate', says Denmark's foreign minister

Denmark's foreign minister has criticised a "completely inappropriate" social post by Donald Trump appearing to show Greenland and Iceland as part of the US. 

During a flurry of social media posts over the long holiday weekend, the US president posted a map showing the country sprawling across all of North America, and extending to Greenland and Iceland.

In the post, Canada, Mexico, Iceland and Greenland, as well as islands in the Caribbean, all appear coloured in the red, white and blue stars and stripes of the US flag.

Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told the national broadcaster DR on Tuesday that it was "obviously a sign that the US president still harbours some kind of maximalist vision in his own mind".

"We need to rein that in," the politician said, calling the post "disturbing and, in many ways, completely inappropriate".

Iceland's foreign secretary, Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, summoned US ambassador Billy Long to a meeting and said she made it clear that the post was unacceptable, national broadcaster RUV said.

President Trump's post came on Monday as the European Union sought to reassure Greenland with the promise of a stronger partnership and hundreds of millions of euros in investment following Trump's repeated threats.

Iceland, another NATO member that is just 180 miles (290km) away from Greenland, became alarmed when Trump mistakenly named the country four times while speaking about his designs on Greenland.

It led its left-leaning coalition government to move forward a referendum, originally planned for next year, on whether the country should resume long-stalled negotiations to become a member of the EU.

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The measure, which was promoted, in part, as an effort to strengthen ties with Europe to better insulate the country from global instability, was rejected in a referendum on 30 August.

Mr Trump also suggested renaming the state of New Mexico as "New America".

The posts came less than a fortnight after Trump ordered Lake Ontario on the Canadian border to be renamed "Lake America" amid an escalating trade war with Canada.

In 2025, the US president made headlines when he passed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

In an apparent response to Trump's renaming, the creators of TV show South Park have announced it will be renamed South America for its upcoming 29th series.

(c) Sky News 2026: Trump post showing Iceland and Greenland as part of the US 'completely inap