President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Denmark should give up Greenland for “the free world.”

“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” he said during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. “I’ve been told that for a long time, long before I even ran, I mean people have been talking about it for a long time.”

He said people question if Denmark “has any legal right to it.”

“But if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security, that’s for the free world,” he said. “I’m talking about protecting the free world. … You don’t even need binoculars. You look outside. You have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen … The people are going to probably vote for independence or to come into the United States.”

And if Copenhagen intervened, the U.S. would “tariff Denmark at a very high level,” he said. 

The president-elect said he has no concrete plans to acquire Greenland, but he has repeatedly floated the idea. When announcing his choice for U.S. ambassador to Denmark last month, he said that “for purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world … the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

His son Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland Tuesday privately and wasn’t planning to meet with officials.

Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Egede, previously called for the island’s independence but noted that it’s not for sale to the U.S.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.