In a striking rebuke of his former boss’s ambitions, Gary Cohn—former Director of the White House National Economic Council and IBM’s vice chairman—has publicly dismissed the notion of forcibly acquiring Greenland, labeling such an action as “a little bit over the edge.” Cohn, who advised Donald Trump on economic matters during his first term, emphasized that “Greenland will stay Greenland” during his interview with the BBC.
The comments come amid escalating geopolitical tensions surrounding the Arctic territory, which has emerged as a critical focal point at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Cohn suggested that Trump’s inflammatory statements may constitute a strategic overreach designed to secure negotiating advantages for U.S. interests, particularly regarding access to Greenland’s vast reserves of rare earth minerals—resources deemed essential for advancing artificial intelligence and quantum computing technologies.
Cohn revealed that bipartisan consensus exists in Congress against any forced acquisition, stating: “I just came from a U.S. congressional delegation meeting, and I think there’s pretty uniform consensus with both Republicans and Democrats that Greenland will stay Greenland.” Instead, he proposed that the U.S. could negotiate an “offtake” agreement for mineral rights while expanding military presence on the island, noting that the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean are “becoming much more of a military threat.”
The IBM executive drew parallels to Trump’s previous foreign policy approaches, noting the administration’s intervention in Venezuela was designed to disrupt its relationships with China, Russia, and Cuba. He suggested similar strategic thinking might be driving the Greenland discourse, with the ultimate objectives being enhanced military positioning and resource security rather than actual territorial acquisition.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied claims that Trump’s aggressive posture stemmed from his Nobel Peace Prize disappointment, instead framing Greenland as a “strategic asset for the United States” crucial to hemispheric security. The developments underscore how competition for quantum computing supremacy and rare earth minerals has become intertwined with global power dynamics, with both IBM and Google claiming leadership in the quantum technology race that now dominates discussions alongside Arctic geopolitics in Davos.