He said it would only be removed after a deal is reached for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland”.
“This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet. These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,” Trump said, embracing what amounted to a military threat against some of Washington’s closest and oldest allies.
A bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers, including senior members of the House and Senate, travelled to Copenhagen to reassure the leaders of Denmark and Greenland, and their increasingly anxious citizens that most Americans do not support Trump’s plan to annex or buy Greenland, let alone military action against a fellow Nato ally.
“You are hearing from the executive branch,” Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican-Alaska) told reporters in the Danish capital. “The Congress also has a role.”
On Capitol Hill, Democrats and some Republicans have fumed at the Trump Administration’s escalating threats against Greenland, rhetoric they’ve called pointless and potentially corrosive to the Nato alliance. Some have drafted legislation aimed at blocking the use of force against the territory.
In Copenhagen, US lawmakers met with counterparts in the Danish parliament yesterday to “lower the temperature”, Senator Chris Coons (Democrat-Delaware) said. They made it clear that Trump’s position was being challenged back home.
“It is important to underscore that when you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the US to acquire Greenland, the vast majority – some 75% – will say we do not think that that is a good idea,” Murkowski said at a news conference. “This senator from Alaska does not think it is a good idea.”
“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski added.
Coons said Trump was exaggerating the threat to US national security.
“Are there real pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia,” Coons asked. “No. Not today. Are there real opportunities for us to partner through Nato to contribute to Arctic security? Yes. And if we ask respectfully and we plan together, we can achieve that goal.”
Denmark says the territory, home to 57,000 people, is not for sale. European leaders have said decisions about Greenland’s future should be made only by Denmark and Greenland.
The US lawmakers met Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former Nato secretary-general and former Danish prime minister, told Danish television that Trump’s threats had shaken his view of the US.
“It’s a difficult development,” Rasmussen said. “I have always looked up to the USA as a champion of the free world.”
Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), speaking on the Senate floor last week, said he was “sick of stupid” and urged the President to fire advisers who were pushing a Greenland takeover. He also travelled to Copenhagen.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the chair of the powerful Senate defence appropriations subcommittee, said this week that the effort risked “incinerating the hard-won trust of loyal allies in exchange for no meaningful change in US access to the Arctic”.
Other Republicans, however, have downplayed the Administration’s threats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said earlier this month that military action is “not something that anybody’s contemplating seriously at this point”.
Some lawmakers are trying to prevent the Administration from attacking Greenland by force.
Murkowski and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), also a member of the delegation, introduced a Bill this week that would withhold government funding for any operation aimed at exerting control over the territory of a Nato ally.
“I hope it’s ultimately not necessary, but we are operating in times where we’re having conversations about things that we never thought even possible,” Murkowski told reporters.
Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) said he had drafted a war powers resolution to block the use of military force. And Representatives Ro Khanna (D-California) and Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) introduced a symbolic resolution with Murkowski and Gallego to reaffirm the US Government’s “respect for the sovereignty of the kingdom of Denmark, including Greenland”.
The lawmakers’ trip to Denmark was intended as a show of support for the Nato ally. Several lawmakers expressed gratitude to Denmark for its long-standing alliance with the US, including sending troops to support the US war in Afghanistan.
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