🔗 Share this article

A key figure from Donald Trump's top aides has increased tensions on the Danish government by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

The president’s deputy chief of staff, stated emphatically military intervention would not be needed to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” he incorrectly stated, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

These remarks follow a period of growing tensions between the two NATO allies after the American leader's repeated interest to acquire Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an extraordinary meeting to discuss the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be gained without military intervention due to its limited number of residents.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The real question is on what grounds does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What is the basis of their ownership claim?” he asked.

He added: “The US is the dominant force in NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

His comments came after Trump remarked recently, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US desired the territory “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an attack by the US a fellow alliance member 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, urging Trump to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the social media post, he responded by stating: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the beginning of this administration... The president has been very clear about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it was integrated of the Danish realm. The US maintains a strategic installation there, important for its national missile defense network.

In recent years, there has been increasing sentiment for self-rule, especially following disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people.

But amid the spectre of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March formed a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”