Trump insists on Greenland: “Anything else is unacceptable”

Because until then I had US President Donald Trump always grandly proclaiming: “One way or another – we’ll get Greenland, the USA needs Greenland for its national security.” But there was great tension and concern yesterday that Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (DK) and Vivian Motzfeldt (Greenland) in the White House for their resistance to Trump’s plans could be humiliated in a similar way to that of Ukraine’s president Wolodimir Selenskij had been.

Now, for the first time, serious talks and the desperate attempt by Denmark and the autonomous, largest island in the world to counter the US President’s request with a serious offer. It was made clear right from the start: Greenland, with its 54,000 inhabitants and its enormous mineral resources and raw materials, is not for sale. And Denmark also has no authority to sell Greenland.

Instead, the offer: Direct access for the USA to investments, no tariffs, expansion of American military bases – and generally great economic concessions. Because: “The Americans actually already have everything they want militarily in Greenland – except for stationing nuclear weapons,” said the former German economics minister Robert Habeck, who now works as an analyst for the Danish Institute for International Studies, in an interview for rbbInforadio24 to consider. According to the treaty, the USA could increase its military presence on the island at any time.

Many US bases

The USA had already stationed up to 10,000 soldiers on Greenland during the Second World War. Even after 1945 they still operated numerous bases and radar systems. Only with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR did Washington close all sites except for the Pituffik Space Base.

But Trump apparently wants more.

Even before his deputy’s meeting with the European foreign ministers, he shot across the board: “It is crucial for the Golden Dome we are building,” he wrote on Truth Social, referring to a planned missile defense system. “With Greenland in the hands of the USA,” NATO will also become far more powerful, he assured and threatened: “Anything else is unacceptable.”

The majority is against it

The Trump administration seems to have little support at home in its desire to take Greenland. According to a recent Ipsos-Reuters poll only 17 percent of US citizens surveyed supported the idea of ​​Greenland joining the United States. Using military force is absolutely unthinkable for the vast majority of the US population: only four percent of those surveyed would do so US military intervention in Greenland to be welcomed.

Parts of the US Congress also want to prevent such a step. A bill now presented in the Senate would prohibit Trump’s government from “annexing, occupying or otherwise controlling” the territory of a NATO country without the consent of the affected ally.

The bill was introduced by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. “Such an approach would contradict the North Atlantic Treaty, weaken NATO’s cohesion and undermine the alliance’s existing efforts to counter the threat from adversaries such as Russia and China,” the two senators emphasized. In concrete terms, this would mean that neither the Pentagon nor the State Department would receive money to take military action against the territory of NATO partners. However, it is still unclear whether the proposed law will ever gain a majority.

Denmark brings Swedish soldiers to Greenland

In view of the US takeover threats, Denmark is getting help from European NATO partner countries. Some Swedish army officers will arrive in Greenland later on Wednesday, said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm. The army members would be sent at Denmark’s request.