Trump Falsely Claims US Got Greenland and Venezuela at Georgia Rally

President Donald Trump told a campaign rally for Republican candidates in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, October 24, that the United States has secured control over both Greenland and Venezuela. Neither territory has been transferred to US sovereignty. Denmark has not transferred sovereignty over Greenland, and Venezuela remains an independent sovereign nation recognised under international norms.

What Trump told the crowd

Addressing supporters at the rally, held ahead of the November 3 midterm congressional elections, Trump asserted that Denmark had transferred sovereignty over Greenland to Washington. "Denmark was so great, they gave us Greenland. You do know that, right? We already have that. We're doing good with that, aren't we?" he told the crowd, according to ANI. He said the deal would go down as the greatest real estate deal in history, probably after Venezuela, and then asked the crowd: "What do you take: Venezuela or Greenland? Both? We got them both!" TASS, a second wire, also reported the remarks to Republican supporters in Georgia, and quoted Trump adding that the US got them both for zero.

What the agreement actually says

Trump's remarks followed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed on October 22 between the United States and Denmark to strengthen maritime industrial cooperation and US shipbuilding capacities. The document's own text contradicts the claim. In its section on legal status and scope, the MoU states: "This MoU does not apply to Greenland or the Faroe Islands." The text says the document is not an international treaty, creates no legal rights or obligations, and does not authorise any procurement, contract award or transfer of funds. Each country is expected to bear its own costs.

A defence agreement has expanded US military rights in the region, but it continues to recognise Danish sovereignty and Greenlandic self-determination. Greenland is part of Denmark as an autonomous territory, TASS noted, and under a 1951 defence agreement Washington undertook to defend the island from aggression.

What the October agreement does instead

The framework signed on October 22 is built around commercial and industrial work in the maritime sector, in three tracks: education and training; equipment, technology and services; and defence industrial and dual-use cooperation. Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stressing that commercial focus: "Today, Denmark signs an agreement with the US, which paves the way for Danish expertise and solutions in US maritime efforts."

The road to the rally claim

On October 13, Trump announced on Truth Social that large-scale oil, gas and mineral exploration was set to begin in Greenland, following a tripartite agreement reached last month between Washington, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Arctic security and defence cooperation. In that post he wrote: "Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!"

The Venezuela claim follows events in Caracas earlier this year. In January, US forces captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Venezuela; ANI reported they were flown to New York to face criminal indictments. Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodriguez addressed the UN General Assembly in September. ANI reported that Trump used the Georgia platform to frame Venezuela's ongoing transition and commercial access to its oil fields as a complete strategic acquisition. The record the wires published does not support that framing for either territory.