Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that Greenland will eventually fall under American control.
Now a Texas oil company connected to his political orbit has arrived on the island with drilling equipment—before receiving final permission to drill.
Greenland’s government is not amused.
According to reporting by the Guardian, local authorities issued a “strong warning” to Greenland Energy after the company began moving forward with logistical preparations for wells in one of the world’s most remote and politically sensitive territories.
The government’s message was unmistakable:
“All future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority before they are carried out.”
But the story took an even stranger turn when the person hired to help present the drilling mission to the world was revealed.
Dr. Phil.
Greenland Energy has reportedly retained Phil McGraw, the former television talk-show host and Trump ally, to produce a documentary series about what the company calls “modern-day wildcatters.”
The result is an extraordinary collision of geopolitics, fossil-fuel exploration, Trump-world connections and reality-style television.
Behind the spectacle lies a serious confrontation over sovereignty.
Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Its enormous reserves of minerals, potential energy resources and strategic Arctic position have made it increasingly important as climate change opens new shipping routes and intensifies competition among the United States, Russia and China.
Trump has made no secret of his interest.
Earlier this month, he reportedly posted a menacing image showing himself looming over Greenland and told Americans they could “bet” that the territory would be under U.S. control before the end of the decade.
His administration has also argued that Greenland is vital to the proposed Golden Dome missile-defense system.
Against that backdrop, the arrival of a Trump-connected energy company carries implications far beyond an ordinary commercial project.
Greenland Energy is headquartered in Texas and has multiple links to the president’s political and financial network.
Billionaire Trump donor Kenneth Griffin reportedly owns a 9 percent stake in the company. One of its appointed directors worked on Trump’s Golden Dome project, while chairman and largest shareholder Larry Swets is also described as part of Trump’s broader circle.
Those relationships do not prove that the company is acting on orders from the White House or that its drilling plans are part of a government effort to seize control of Greenland.
But they inevitably raise questions about whether commercial, political and strategic ambitions are beginning to converge.
Greenland Energy reportedly arrived with equipment and prepared to sink wells despite lacking all required approvals from local authorities.
After receiving the government’s warning, Swets offered what sounded like a limited apology.
“Our enthusiasm for the project led us to communicate in a way that created confusion,” he said.
The statement framed the dispute as a communications problem rather than an attempt to bypass Greenland’s regulatory authority.
The company has also presented a more optimistic account to investors.
It said project leaders had participated in “high-level meetings” with Greenlandic regulators and oversight officials. The discussions were described as constructive, even after the formal warning.
“We continue to be encouraged by the progress being made toward the remaining approvals required for drilling,” the company told shareholders.
That wording confirms that approvals remain outstanding.
Nevertheless, the company is reportedly preparing to ship approximately 300 containers of drilling equipment from Canada to Greenland on September 12.
Trump’s Greenland envoy, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, has reportedly suggested that oil production could begin as early as next year.
The confidence of that timeline contrasts sharply with the Greenlandic government’s demand that future logistics be cleared in advance.
For local leaders, the dispute may represent a test of whether foreign corporations will respect Greenland’s laws—or behave as if political support in Washington gives them permission to move first and seek approval later.
The addition of Dr. Phil makes the episode more surreal but also potentially more powerful.
McGraw served on Trump’s religious-freedom commission and has moved increasingly into right-wing political media. As the public face of the project, he could transform an industrial venture into a heroic television narrative about American entrepreneurs battling the Arctic wilderness.
The planned documentary will reportedly follow the company’s “mission,” portraying its workers as contemporary wildcatters chasing energy beneath Greenland’s frozen terrain.
But there is another story the cameras may have to capture.
A small Arctic government is confronting a corporation connected to the president of a superpower—a president who repeatedly suggests that the territory will soon belong to him.
Greenland has not authorized an invasion. It has not surrendered control of its natural resources. And it has not yet granted the company final permission to begin drilling.
Trump’s allies may see oil, minerals and a crucial military position.
Greenland sees its homeland.
The containers are scheduled to arrive in September. The television host is ready. The company is promising progress.
But before anyone drills into Greenland, its government has delivered a reminder that even Donald Trump’s friends must ask permission.