Is the United States about to invade Greenland?
If you listen to EU politicians and much of the U.S. legacy media, and actually take them seriously, then you might answer “yes.†President Donald Trump is going to unleash Delta Force to spirit away the prime minister before we nuke Nuuk (the capital of Greenland) and send in the Army to mop up survivors.
If you’ve followed this issue from the beginning and have tried to accurately understand how the president operates, then you should conclude that this brouhaha is all about negotiating. You also may think that the U.S. is just pursuing a long-term policy more vigorously, and that our allies in Europe really need to chill.
The issue of Greenland suddenly popped back up in the news recently, and I kid you not, because White House adviser Stephen Miller’s wife posted this on X.
This sent the European elite straight to their oft-used fainting couches, which they had to stay firmly emplaced on when Trump himself weighed in and said he still aims to acquire Greenland. This has been his goal since 2019 and has been, off and on, a U.S. strategic aim since the 19th century.
When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if Trump meant to use the military to acquire Greenland, she said that “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option.â€
Was Katie Miller being a bit of a troll? Yes. Is Trump putting Denmark’s collective feet to the fire with his aggressive insistence? Yes.
Here’s Austria’s Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn, the chairman of a committee to bring his country into NATO, saying that European countries should seize U.S. bases on the continent if the U.S. takes Greenland.
Keep in mind, the U.S. has been practically begging NATO allies to spend more on their defense, so this is hardly a credible threat. It’s also strange to witness European belligerence on these issues when European countries continue to demand increased American involvement in Ukraine.
For those less hysterical than the very serious Western elites who go into a tizzy any time President Donald Trump says something outside their bland, corporate, and respectfully conventional framework, it’s worth taking a step back and considering what’s really happening.
Trump is basically using his well-worn tactics as a negotiator to secure a long-term goal of the U.S.
He has made it plain from the beginning that he intends to buy Greenland from Denmark. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly communicated as much, assuring lawmakers that the administration’s intent was not to invade the sparsely populated, North American island owned by a NATO ally.
I’d hazard to guess Trump’s reason for potentially using the military is because he virtually always says as much. It is an option, one that he would almost certainly never take. What he wants is to create maximum urgency on the part of a negotiating partner to get a deal done. And that’s what he’s done in the Greenland case. We are closer to acquiring the territory than any time since World War II despite Danish and European protests.
And that’s a good thing.
I’ve written about why Greenland is important for the interests of the American people as far as security, economics, and even to a certain extent national pride. Bringing the island territory fully into the American orbit is not just a pointless media stunt. It has real implications for U.S. strategy vis-à -vis major competitors like Russia and China, countries that have a keen desire to have access to and control of the Arctic.
China has already made overtures to Greenland to control and mine its rare earths mineral deposits.Â
Is the current security arrangement enough to keep China out and America in? Maybe.
But consider this, on top of the current tension it’s clear that there is a significant independence movement within Greenland. It’s very possible that the tiny population may go independent, enter the “market†so to speak, and seek out an arrangement with a rival of the United States.
The issue can be seen in this joint statement issued by Denmark and a coalition of European countries.
Denmark committed years ago to accepting any decision the people of Greenland make about their independence. If Greenland, with a population of around 56,000 people, decides to go independent they can do so theoretically without the Danes stopping it. And as of now, independence is quite popular. But Greenland is also highly dependent on Danish subsidies for its economy and welfare state.
What’s to prevent Greenland from going independent and then selling itself to the highest bidder? At the moment, not much.
And given how much pressure Trump is globally putting on U.S. rivals it makes sense that he’s essentially playing hardball to ensure that Greenland remains and becomes an even more integral part of U.S. national security.
Trump was quite serious about the return of the Monroe Doctrine, or the “Donroe Doctrine†as he calls it.
Nothing personal to the Danes, who have been good allies, or other European nations who’ve been, well, uneven allies. This is just how Trump does business, don’t take it personally.
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