Would Denmark Ever Sell Greenland?

Summary

WSJ What’s News Podcast – Summary

Episode: Would Denmark Ever Sell Greenland?
Date: January 7, 2026
Host: Luke Vargas
Key Contributors: Daniel Michaels, Rebecca Fung, Jessica Mendoza, David Wainer, Christopher Mims

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Main Theme

This episode focuses primarily on the explosive suggestion that the U.S.—under President Trump—may attempt to purchase Greenland from Denmark. The reporting explores whether the current U.S. rhetoric surrounding Greenland is truly saber-rattling or a negotiating tactic for a potential territorial deal. The episode also provides updates on world oil markets, particularly a sizeable oil deal between Venezuela and the U.S., analysis of stock market trends, and developments in healthcare and biotech.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

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1. The U.S. and Greenland: Diplomatic Gamble or Genuine Ambition?

Featuring Daniel Michaels (Brussels Bureau Chief)
(01:08–05:24)

• The Trump administration’s recent hawkish statements regarding Greenland have led to questions about whether the U.S. is seriously interested in acquiring the territory or using tough talk as leverage.
• Geostrategic Context:
  • Concerns over Russia’s increased aggression and China’s expanding nuclear arsenal make the Arctic—and specifically Greenland—increasingly important for U.S. national security.
  • "The U.S. has very serious real national security concerns that Greenland fits into in a big way." – Daniel Michaels [02:38]
• Diplomatic Fallout:
  • Denmark and six European allies issued a statement urging collective security approaches in the Arctic and cautioning against unilateral American action.
  • The Danish prime minister recently warned that any U.S. invasion of Greenland could risk the NATO alliance itself.
• American Negotiating Tactics:
  • The Trump administration is taking what Daniel Michaels called a "maximalist approach"—pressing hard in public while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others pursue quieter diplomatic channels.
  • "Trump does seem to take a maximalist approach with allies fairly often....the more muscular rhetoric really is a negotiating tactic." – Daniel Michaels [03:33]
• Is a Deal Possible?
  • No European government is currently open to selling Greenland, and polling shows most Greenlanders oppose it too.
  • However, there is speculation that the U.S. could seek a “compact of free association,” leveraging support for Greenlandic independence as a bridge to closer U.S. ties.
  • "It may be one of these things where what one day seems impossible not long after is actually achievable." – Daniel Michaels [04:37]
  • The administration is reportedly "trying to identify Greenlanders who might work with it and might lead a...independence movement, even if it would only be independence from Greenland and then dependence on the United States." – Daniel Michaels [05:07]

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2. Venezuelan Oil in the Spotlight

(05:28–06:23)

• President Trump announced that Venezuela may supply the U.S. with 30–50 million barrels of oil—a significant 15% of Venezuela's annual output.
• Benefits:
  • Good news for U.S. Gulf Coast refineries seeking heavy crude.
  • The agreement is valued at $1.5–$2.5 billion at current prices.
  • "It would take as many as 25 of the largest oil tankers in the world to transport that oil." – Rebecca Fung [05:56]
• U.S. energy officials and major oil companies are discussing potential investments in Venezuela.

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3. European Security and U.S. Position on Ukraine

(06:23–07:36)

• UK and France recently pledged to establish military hubs in Ukraine if a ceasefire occurs, with plans for weapons factories.
• The Trump administration insists a U.S. security backstop depends on stronger commitments from European allies.

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4. Wyoming Courts Rule on Abortion Law

(07:36–08:23)

• Wyoming Supreme Court struck down two abortion bans, including the nation's first ban on abortion pills, citing state constitutional violations.

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5. Record-Setting Markets: Rally Risks and Rotations

Insights from Jessica Mendoza and Market Reporters
(09:06–13:12)

• The Dow has had its strongest start since 2003; indexes worldwide hit all-time highs.
  • Bullish Factors:
    • Expectations of robust corporate earnings and tax cuts.
    • Anticipated Fed rate cuts benefiting equities.
    • “Traders are expecting the Federal Reserve to continue to cut rates, which typically benefits the stock market.” – Jessica Mendoza [09:56]
    • Major banks see further S&P 500 gains in 2026; Bank of America projects a 3.7% increase, with JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs more optimistic.
  • Caution Signs:
    • Bitcoin and “meme stocks” waver after strong 2025 gains.
    • Investors wary that trades, especially in artificial intelligence, might struggle in 2026 after powering markets last year.
    • "If the S&P 500 rises this year, it will be the longest winning streak since 2007...there's only been five times where the S&P 500 has risen for four or more years in a row." – Jessica Mendoza [10:59]
  • Upcoming Economic Data:
    • Labor and jobs data due; fourth-quarter corporate earnings imminent.
    • Biotech and healthcare face hopes for a rebound.
  • Healthcare Spotlight:
    • New weight loss drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy are moving markets; Eli Lilly poised to introduce its own product.
    • "The question for this year is whether these companies are going to deliver on the promise of obesity." – David Wainer [12:44]
    • M&A activity in biotech is anticipated as larger companies leverage funds to acquire promising smaller firms, especially in the GLP-1 space.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On U.S.–Denmark Diplomacy:
  "Trump does seem to take a maximalist approach with allies fairly often....the more muscular rhetoric really is a negotiating tactic."
  — Daniel Michaels [03:33]

• On Potential of a Greenland Deal:
  "It may be one of these things where what one day seems impossible not long after is actually achievable."
  — Daniel Michaels [04:37]

• Oil Perspective:
  "It would take as many as 25 of the largest oil tankers in the world to transport that oil."
  — Rebecca Fung [05:56]

• On AI and Market Concerns:
  "There's also concern that some of the trades that really powered the market higher last year could struggle this year. Namely, AI is top of the list there."
  — Jessica Mendoza [10:34]

• On the Weight Loss Drug Race in Healthcare:
  "So the question for this year is whether these companies are going to deliver on the promise of obesity. So we'll see what happens. And it's really significant for the entire healthcare space because biotech companies have surged on the anticipation that all that money is used to acquire them."
  — David Wainer [12:44]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Greenland Diplomacy & U.S. Negotiation: [01:08–05:24]
• Venezuela Oil Deal: [05:28–06:23]
• Ukraine Security Guarantees: [06:23–07:36]
• Wyoming Abortion Ruling: [07:36–08:23]
• Market Rally Outlook: [09:06–11:25]
• Healthcare and Biotech Focus: [11:25–13:12]

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Overall Tone and Takeaway

The episode delivers a sober, analytical overview of how diplomatic brinkmanship, resource deals, and market optimism are interwoven with political risk heading into 2026. The analysis of the U.S.–Greenland question especially balances genuine strategic concerns with the nuances of negotiation, while the market segment maintains a pragmatic optimism tinged with caution regarding tech and healthcare trends.

Anchored in the Wall Street Journal’s straightforward, business-first style, the show gives listeners a brisk, intelligent guide through breaking stories and the forces shaping global markets and diplomacy.

Transcript

[Jessica Mendoza]

Hey, this is Jessica Mendoza, host of the Journal Podcast, our show about money, business and power. If you're looking for more deeply reported stories like we share every day, consider becoming a subscriber to the Wall Street Journal. Visit subscribe.WSJ.com TheJournal all lowercase to subscribe now.

[Luke Vargas]

The White House talks tough on Greenland, but is it just a pretext for negotiations over a sale of the island plan? Plus what 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil could mean for US refiners? And big banks seem to shrug off bubble fears predicting another strong year for markets.

[Jessica Mendoza]

There's also concern that some of the trades that really powered the market higher last year could struggle this year. Namely, AI is top of the list there, and I think a lot of investors have some concern that we could see more of that happen again this year.

[Luke Vargas]

It's Wednesday, January 7th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM edition of Wal. What's news, the top headlines and business stories moving your world.

[Christopher Mims]

Today.

[Luke Vargas]

We are exclusively reporting that President Trump may be seeking to buy Greenland and that recent threats made about the island amount to rhetoric intended to push Denmark to enter into negotiations that would see it hand over control. That is according to remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to U.S. lawmakers on Monday. Fears of an aggressive American action led six European leaders yesterday to issue a joint statement with Denmark's prime minister that called on Washington to collectively work with allies over security concerns in the Arctic. Polling also shows that most Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the US but is that the end of the story or just the backdrop for diplomatic dealings? Daniel Michaels is the Journal's Brussels bureau chief. Dan, how should we be interpreting these statements from Copenhagen as well as from other European European capitals? And for that matter, what we're hearing from the US There are two levels to this.

[Daniel Michaels]

One is the geostrategic picture and the other is just the politics and international relations of the day. Since Russia has become more aggressive in Ukraine and beyond, fears of Russia have increased. And part of that includes a growing fear of nuclear attack, which involves missiles launched from Russia towards North America. Layer on top of that, China is very quickly expanding its nuclear arsenal, and any missiles launched from China to the US Would pass over the high north, including over Greenland. So the US has very serious real national security concerns that Greenland fits into in a big way. But then there is the diplomacy of this, which is obviously rubbing Denmark and Europeans the wrong way because the way the the Trump administration is going about presenting its case for greater US Presence in Greenland, which basically is that we need to own it in order to do something there.

[Luke Vargas]

Right. And on the diplomatic front, I noticed the Danish prime minister warning yesterday that the country's NATO alliance with the US could collapse were the US to invade Greenland. That could well be true, Dan. But should we not bear in mind that there's reason to think Trump, if he is thinking about some sort of purchase here, seems to view close relationships as the ones that can be most tested.

[Daniel Michaels]

Trump does seem to take a maximalist approach with allies fairly often. He did it with NATO itself last year, where NATO had been targeting spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense, and he pushed that to 5%. And almost nobody this time last year have predicted that by the end of June, NATO would unanimously agree to do that. So it does seem that with Greenland, Trump and his administration are taking, again, a maximalist approach at the same time that Secretary of State Rubio and some other people close to the administration more quietly seem to be taking the approach that, no, we're not going to invade Greenland. We want to own it. We want you to sell it to us, and that the more muscular rhetoric really is a negotiating tactic.

[Luke Vargas]

That's the context around the US Approach here. Are you hearing anything that would suggest there's a path in which a deal could happen?

[Daniel Michaels]

There is a potential path. Nobody in Europe seems amenable to it yet. It may be one of these things where what one day seems impossible not long after is actually achievable. That is an approach that is getting mentioned more and more often for Greenland, that the US Might strike some kind of compact of free association with Greenland. Denmark hasn't signaled any openness to that yet. Greenlanders themselves don't seem open to it. It does seem that the US Administration is looking for potential friends in Greenland and Denmark, trying to identify Greenlanders who might work with it and might lead a. What one might call an independence movement, even if it would only be independence from Greenland and then dependence on the United States.

[Luke Vargas]

Daniel Michaels is the Journal's Brussels bureau chief. Dan, thank you so much, as always.

[Daniel Michaels]

Thank you. Always good to talk.

[Luke Vargas]

President Trump says that Venezuela intends to give the US between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil with the White House, using the proceeds to benefit both countries. Venezuela's Ministry of Information didn't respond to requests for commentary. Journal energy Markets reporter Rebecca Fung explained what the barrels would amount to for the U.S. the amount of oil that.

[Rebecca Fung]

Trump says Venezuela will give to the US is pretty significant. It's up to 15% of all the crude that Venezuela currently produces in a year. It would take as many as 25 of the largest oil tankers in the world to transport that oil. This is good news for Gulf coast refineries and by extension, US Consumers because Venezuela oil is of a particular kind, which is the heavy crude that refineries along the Gulf coast have been looking for new sources in recent years. Years energy consultants value those barrels between 1.5 and $2.5 billion at the current benchmark prices.

[Luke Vargas]

Representatives from Chevron, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil are expected to attend a White House meeting on Friday to discuss potential investments in Venezuela. What do you want to know about the situation in Venezuela and what comes next? Journal reporters Alexander Ward and David Huberti are holding a live Q and A on WSJ.com today at 3:00pm Eastern. To submit a question, check out the link we've left in our show. Notes European officials are looking to the White House for a public commitment to backstop Ukraine's security a day after the UK And France pledged to set up military hubs for their troops in the country if Kyiv can agree to a ceasefire with Russia. They'd also build factories to produce weapons and military equipment. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer talked up the agreement, which offers the clearest details yet of the security guarantees Western allies are willing to offer Ukraine. This is a vital part of our iron cast commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long term. It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil. Trump administration officials had made clear that a US Backstop was dependent on commitments from Ukraine's European allies. And let's turn now to Wyoming, where abortion will stay legal after the state Supreme Court struck down two abortion bans on Tuesday. The court ruled that two laws barring the procedure, including the nation's first ban on abortion pills, violated the state constitution. In a 4 to 1 decision, the justices sided with the state's only abortion clinic and people who had sued over the abortion bans passed since 2022, when the U.S. supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Coming up, we'll take a closer look at markets as stocks around the world hit fresh highs, extending a record rally. But how long can it? That's after the break.

[Christopher Mims]

Hi, I'm Christopher Mims. And I'm Tim Higgins. We're the hosts of the Wall Street Journal's Bold Names podcast.

[Luke Vargas]

On our show, we bring the Bold name companies featured in the pages of the Wall Street Journal to life through.

[Christopher Mims]

Real conversations with the people that lead them. If you're looking for more news and insights that bring you inside the C Suite, consider becoming a subscriber to the Wall street journal. Visit subscribe.WSJ.com boldnames to subscribe now.

[Luke Vargas]

Well, for anyone wondering whether the past year's market rally has an end, think again. The Dow has had its strongest start since 2003 as US stock markets enter year four of their rally. And not even uncertainty around Venezuela has knocked things off course, with indexes in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and London hitting all time closing highs. This week, our Daniel Bok spoke to Journal Markets reporter Caitlin McCabe about the rally and how long it's expected to last.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Investors are expecting more strong corporate earnings. Tax cuts this year are expected to really benefit corporations, too. I think there's a consensus that the economy will more or less hold up this year. And also crucially, traders are expecting the Federal Reserve to continue to cut rates, which typically benefits the stock market. So taking all of that together, we're seeing this show up in predictions from big banks in terms of where they see the S&P 500 finishing this year. Bank of America, for example, sees the S&P 500 ending the year 3.7% higher than it did in 2020 25, while JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are expecting even bigger gains.

[Christopher Mims]

Though, Caitlin, I imagine there is some caution thinking about sectors that showed weakness last year.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Well, I think we've seen some signs already that areas of the market may have run up too far too fast. If you look at Bitcoin, for example, and meme stocks that are popular among retail investors, those have faltered a bit after charging really high last year. And more broadly, there's also concern that some of the trades that really powered the market higher last year could struggle this year. Namely, AI is top of the list there. We saw some jitters about artificial intelligence creep into the market toward the end of last year, and I think a lot of investors have some concern that we could see more of that happen again this year. And if The S&P 500 rises this year, it will be the longest winning streak since 2007. So that's nearly 20 years ago. And in the index's history, there's only been five times where the S&P 500 has risen for four or more years in a row.

[Christopher Mims]

Investors will get their next look at the economy's health, starting with jolts, job openings and labor turnover data for November. That's due out this morning at 10am Eastern. And the December jobs report is coming on Friday. As far as companies and sectors go, fourth quarter earnings begin soon. And in particular, healthcare and biotech companies will be hoping for better performance in 2026.

[David Wainer]

In the last few years, we've seen this massive downturn in biotech even as AI and other areas of innovation have done well. Biotech has struggled, layoffs, companies are closing and, you know, interest rates have had a lot to do with that there too. The last six months or so, it's started to turn around.

[Christopher Mims]

That's Journal heard on the street columnist David Wainer on the latest episode of WSJ's take on the Week. David added that news about even wider access to GLP1 Weight loss drugs could be a real boon for the healthcare space. Shares of Novo Nordisk jumped earlier this week after the drug maker said its new Wegovy weight loss pill is now widely available in the US Shares in rival Eli Lilly dropped on the news, but Lilly is also expected to introduce its own weight loss pill soon. Here's David again.

[David Wainer]

So we're going to see potentially a really big year for these companies. Now, this is kind of similar to the AI trade because Eli Lilly recently crossed the $1 trillion threshold. It's the only health care company outside of Berkshire Hathaway and the tech companies to have crossed that. So the market has run pretty quickly ahead on this. And so the question for this year is whether these companies are going to deliver on the promise of obesity. So we'll see what happens. And it's really significant for the entire healthcare space because biotech companies have surged on the anticipation that all that money is used to acquire them. There's a lot of GLP1 biotechs. It's just like a really important space to watch.

[Christopher Mims]

And for more market trends to watch in 2026, check out the latest episode of WSJ's Take on the Week at the top of the feed, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Luke Vargas]

And that's it for what's news for this Wednesday morning. Today's show was produced by Hattie Moyer and Daniel Bok. Our supervising producer was Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show and until then, thanks for listening.