Washington: US President Donald Trump believes that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, the White House said, a stance that has triggered sharp pushback from Democrats and bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill over the risks such rhetoric poses to NATO and global stability.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” she said.
The comments intensified criticism from lawmakers who warned that even discussing military action against Greenland — a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark — could undermine one of America’s closest alliances.
In a joint statement, Representatives Blake Moore of Utah and Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus, said “sabre-rattling about annexing Greenland is needlessly dangerous.”
“The Kingdom of Denmark is a NATO ally and one of America’s closest partners,” they said. “An attack on Greenland – a crucial part of that alliance – would tragically be an attack on NATO.”
The lawmakers stressed that Denmark has long cooperated closely with Washington on Arctic security. “They have moved in lockstep with the United States in Greenland for decades, accepting every request to increase our military presence on the island, and are spending 3.3% of GDP on defense to help us deter Russia and China in the region,” the statement said.
They rejected the argument that the United States needs to annex Greenland to advance its security interests. “If the message is that ‘we need Greenland,’ the truth is that we already have access to everything we could need from Greenland,” Moore and Hoyer said, noting that Denmark has already approved expanded US deployments and missile defence infrastructure if requested.
“The last thing America needs is a civil war among NATO that endangers our security and our way of life,” the lawmakers said. Threats of annexation risk eroding trust among allies while emboldening authoritarian rivals, they warned.
Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona sought to translate those concerns into legislation, introducing an amendment to the Senate Defense Appropriations bill that would prohibit the use of funds for military force, hostilities or preparations for war against Greenland. The amendment would ensure that no defence funding could be obligated or expended for such actions.
“Families are getting crushed by rising grocery and housing costs, inflation is up, and Trump’s name is all over the Epstein files,” Gallego said. “Instead of doing anything to fix those problems, Trump is trying to distract people by threatening to start wars and invade countries – first in Venezuela, and now against our NATO ally Denmark.”
“What’s happening in Venezuela shows us that we can’t just ignore Trump’s reckless threats,” he added. “His dangerous behavior puts American lives and our global credibility at risk.”
Trump has repeatedly doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the United States. After announcing that Washington had taken control over Venezuela, he said he “absolutely” wanted to take over Greenland and indicated he would revisit the issue in the coming weeks.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer linked the Greenland rhetoric to broader concerns about the administration’s foreign policy direction. Speaking after a classified Gang of Eight briefing, Schumer said the administration provided “no real answers” about its plans in Venezuela or elsewhere.
“Are we going to invade a NATO ally like Greenland? Where does this belligerence stop?” Schumer asked, saying he was “very troubled” by the responses he received. He warned that such language echoed “the 1930s” and risked dragging the United States into open-ended conflicts.
Senator Mark Warner also cautioned that any serious military threat against Denmark would devastate the transatlantic alliance. “Nothing would lead to the absolute destruction of NATO more than American aggressive action against a long term ally like Denmark,” Warner said.
Greenland hosts long-standing US military installations critical to Arctic surveillance and missile defence, and its strategic importance has grown as melting ice opens new shipping routes and intensifies competition with Russia and China.
(IANS)
