Marco Rubio says the Greenland deal permanently addresses U.S. national security concerns at zero taxpayer cost
Marco RubioU.S. Secretary of State, in a statement to Fox News Digital and in a post on his official @SecRubio X account
In a statement given to Fox News Digital and posted on his official X account, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the agreement with Denmark and Greenland a "huge win" for the United States and the American people. He said it "permanently guarantees U.S. security interests in the Arctic at zero cost to the U.S. taxpayer" and "permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland." The text of the agreement has not been published.
“This historic deal is a huge win for the United States and the American people. Thanks to President Trump’s vision and leadership, this historic agreement permanently guarantees U.S. security interests in the Arctic at zero cost to the U.S. taxpayer. Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area. This deal permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland.”
Original post
Reporting
Reporting
Other statements by Marco Rubio in this case
- Rubio says Trump is fully apprised of the Greenland deal when asked whether he misunderstood itLater: Defended or excused
Where this statement fits
Trump’s “permanent control” description of the announced U.S.-Denmark-Greenland security agreement
On September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Denmark and Greenland that he said gives the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland.” Danish and Greenlandic officials initially described an expected agreement and emphasized sovereignty and self-determination. On September 22, the White House published an agreement text dated that day. It reaffirms Denmark’s sovereignty and Greenland’s right to self-determination; provides for U.S. defense areas and access under stated procedures; bars non-NATO states from establishing military installations unless the parties agree otherwise; and has no end date. The text says it enters into force only after diplomatic notice of necessary parliamentary procedures. The dispute remains over how Trump’s “permanent control” description compares with the document’s terms.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
The post quotes Trump's X repost and carries the same three statements Fox News Digital printed at 5:19 PM EDT; it does not contain the two Fox-only lines about Denmark's and Greenland's means to defend Greenland.
Reporting
About this source
Fox News Digital exclusive; Rubio is quoted as telling Fox News Digital. The page gives the same published and modified time, 2026-09-18T17:19:56-04:00. The statement is printed in two pairs of sentences separated by an attribution tag and by an embedded related-link headline ('DENMARK VOWS TO DEFEND GREENLAND AFTER TRUMP REITERATES US SHOULD CONTROL TERRITORY'), which is not part of the statement. A further quotation attributed to Rubio in this article, that Denmark and Greenland lack the financial means to defend Greenland, appears only in Fox after a paragraph sourced to 'a second official', is not in his X post or in NBC's or the BBC's copies of his statement, and is not used.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Published 2026-09-18 22:37 UTC and last modified 2026-09-19 08:15 UTC. NBC quotes the last two sentences of Rubio's statement and attributes them to 'a statement' by Rubio, and says the agreement's full text has not been released. Used as independent corroboration of the wording and of the unpublished text.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Trump had announced the agreement on Truth Social earlier on September 18, 2026, saying it gives the United States permanent control over security in Greenland. Fox News Digital published Rubio's statement at 5:19 PM EDT, alongside a senior U.S. official's description of the deal.
After the quotation
Rubio posted the same text on X at 11:17 PM EDT, quoting Trump's X announcement. Frederiksen and Greenland's leaders issued statements on Friday, and NBC News reported that the agreement's full text had not been released.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Rubio calls the agreement a huge win, says it permanently guarantees U.S. security interests at zero cost to the taxpayer, says Greenland will exclude any adversary, and credits Trump's leadership, which endorses the deal on the terms Trump and Rubio describe. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, because Rubio frames the deal as guaranteeing U.S. security interests and a strategic defense area rather than repeating Trump's word control. That loses because he does not dispute or correct Trump's description and instead endorses the same features: permanence, zero cost and exclusion of adversaries.
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More from this case
Read the full caseTrump says the United States has Greenland now on an unlimited basis
“And when you add the United States and Venezuela together, and then you add Greenland, if you'd like, because we also have Greenland now. We worked out a great deal. We want to thank Denmark and Europe for making that possible. ... We got Greenland on an unlimited basis.”Read statement
Scott Horton says Trump announces at rallies an intention to violate the Greenland agreement
“Trump talks about how he "got Greenland" at every rally now, and people in Greenland, Denmark and around the world take note of how he signed agreements and then announced in campaign rallies his intention to violate them. This is not a joke.”Read statement
Trump tells a Perry, Georgia, rally that Denmark gave the United States Greenland
“You know, by the way, Denmark was so great. They gave us Greenland. You do know that? You don't read about it? ... He's going to attack Greenland, that Denmark gave us. We signed an agreement. You know what? The press have already covered it. It's gonna go down as the greatest real estate deal in history, probably after Venezuela. I think Venezuela. What do you think? Venezuela or Greenland? Both. ... We, we got 'em both. Zero. For zero.”Read statement
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- Marco Rubio says the Greenland deal permanently addresses U.S. national security concerns at zero taxpayer cost
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The Dispute Index. "Marco Rubio says the Greenland deal permanently addresses U.S. national security concerns at zero taxpayer cost". First published: 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1194-in-a-statement-given-to-fox-news-digital