A Top Trump Aide Intensifies Threats to Take Over Greenland

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

Force Deemed Unnecessary

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically military intervention would not be required to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just a population of 30,000 people,” he incorrectly stated, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

Miller’s comments follow a period of increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the American leader's repeated interest to purchase Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has called an extraordinary meeting to discuss the bilateral ties with the United States.

In his interview, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be gained without military intervention due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

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

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to defend NATO, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

He stated there was “no requirement to even consider or discuss” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

His comments followed Trump remarked recently, following other foreign policy actions, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an American aggression against a NATO ally would mean the end of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to abandon his “notions of acquisition” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

Miller’s comments came after his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “SOON”.

When questioned on the social media post, he laughed and said: “This has represented the formal position of the US government from the start of this presidency... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it was integrated of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

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 established a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”