President Donald Trump's push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland could carry an estimated price tag of $700 billion, according to reports.
The estimate, reported by NBC News, was said to have been calculated by scholars and former U.S. officials involved in early planning discussions surrounding Trump's interest in acquiring the 800,000-square-mile island as a strategic buffer in the Arctic against adversaries including Russia and China.
The figure would exceed half of the Defense Department's annual budget and reflects what officials described as a significant national security priority for the Trump administration.
The reported cost comes as new Reuters polling shows the Trump proposal is unpopular with Americans, but also continues to strain relations with U.S. allies.
EUROPEAN ALLIES WORKING ON PLAN IF US ACTS ON ACQUIRING GREENLAND: REPORT
"The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of national security," Trump wrote Wednesday in a Truth Social post and warned that if the U.S. does not act, "Russia or China will."
The president added that "anything less" than U.S. control of Greenland is "unacceptable" and argued that the Arctic territory is vital to American defense interests, including the "Golden Dome" missile defense system in development.
Trump's renewed push has increased tensions with Denmark and other NATO allies.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, troops from several European countries deployed to Greenland Thursday for a two-day mission aimed at boosting the territory's defenses.
France, Germany, Sweden and Norway are participating in the exercise, Fox News said, with leaders saying the mission is intended to demonstrate NATO's ability to deploy military assets quickly in the Arctic.
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NBC News also reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been tasked with developing a proposal to purchase Greenland that will be presented to Trump in the coming weeks.
Rubio and Vice President JD Vance are also expected to meet with officials from Denmark and Greenland in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
Trump has vowed to acquire Greenland "one way or the other," a remark Danish and Greenlandic officials have sharply rejected.
Danish leaders have warned that any military action against another NATO member could jeopardize the alliance itself.
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A Reuters/Ipsos poll also found just 17% of Americans approve of Trump's efforts to acquire Greenland, with 47% opposed, and 35% unsure.
Greenland is the world's largest island and has a population of roughly 56,000 people with most people living along its ice-free coastline. About 80% of the territory is covered by ice caps and glaciers.
Fishing, hunting, whaling, sealing and tourism are the backbone of its local economy.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
