A Top Trump Aide Escalates Threats Regarding the Acquisition of Greenland

One of Donald Trump’s top aides has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by questioning Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, also claimed military intervention would not be needed to assume control of the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the territory, which is a one-time colonial possession and continues as a constituent country of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

Miller’s comments follow a period of growing tensions between the two NATO allies after the US president’s renewed calls to purchase Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has convened an emergency session to discuss the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that dominion of the island could be achieved without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The core issue is on what grounds does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What legal foundation of their ownership claim?” he asked.

Miller continued: “As the leading power within the dominant force in NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to defend NATO, it is logical that Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even consider or discuss” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

These statements followed Trump remarked recently, following events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an American aggression against a NATO ally would mean the end of the defensive pact and “the postwar security order”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement, calling on the US president to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

Miller’s comments were preceded by his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, shared a digital image of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

When questioned on the online image, he responded by stating: “This has represented the official stance of the US government since the beginning of this administration... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

Greenland was under colonial rule until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a strategic installation there, critical to its national missile defense network.

Recently, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, particularly after revelations about historical policies of Greenlandic people.

But amid the spectre of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”