An Emboldened Trump’s Renewed Rhetoric About Taking Over Greenland Draws Howls of Protest From NATO Allies

President Trump’s renewed claim that America needs to take over Greenland in the name of national security following the weekend’s military action in Venezuela is drawing howls of protest from Denmark, the European Union and other NATO allies.“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security and Denmark is not going to be able to do it, I can tell you,” Mr. Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One.Mr. Trump claims that the European Union “needs” America to control the sprawling land that is a gateway to the arctic in North America. The assertion is not sitting well with America’s European allies.“Unfortunately, I think the American president should be taken seriously when he says he wants Greenland,” Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, told Demark’s public broadcast radio network on Monday.“If the United States attacks another NATO country, everything stops,” Ms. Frederiksen added.Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also says Mr. Trump’s policy position is beyond the pale.“This is enough,” Mr. Nielsen said in a Facebook post. “When the president of the United States talks about ‘We need Greenland,’ and connects us with Venezuela and military intervention, it’s not just wrong. This is so disrespectful.”“Our country is not an object of superpower rhetoric,” he added. “We are a people. A land. And democracy. This has to be respected. Especially by close and loyal friends.”“We are a member of NATO, and we are fully aware of the country’s strategic location,” Mr. Nielsen added.Greenland is an autonomous country that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.Mr. Trump’s rhetoric is driving a wedge between America and Europe, with leaders there saying America needs to respect the territorial rights of Denmark and its other allies.“Sweden fully stands up for our neighboring country, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, stated in an X post.The United Kingdom’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, is also supporting the Danes.“Denmark is a very close ally of the UK both in Europe and in NATO, and it’s very important that we’re clear about the principles applicable here,” Mr. Starmer told the Guardian. “Greenland and the kingdom of Denmark must determine the future of Greenland and nobody else.”The European Commission echoed the idea that any changes to the territory’s status needs to come from Greenlanders and Danes, not from the White House.“The EU will continue to uphold the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders and the UN Charter,” the lead foreign spokesperson for the European Commission, Anitta Hipper, told reporters in Brussels on Monday.“These are universal principles, and will not stop defending them,” Ms. Hipper added.Mr. Trump brought up the idea of annexing Greenland often when he first returned to the White House, but the topic seemed to drop down his list of priorities until he named a special envoy to Greenland in December.Mr. Trump’s rhetoric reaccelerated after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela over the weekend.Katie Miller, a podcast host who is also the wife of White House advisor Stephen Miller, posted a photo on X hours after the raid in Venezuela. It showed Greenland covered with the American flag and a caption stating, “SOON.” The post had more than 29 million views and 19 thousand comments.

An Emboldened Trump’s Renewed Rhetoric About Taking Over Greenland Draws Howls of Protest From NATO Allies

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