A Top Trump Aide Ramps Up Assertions to Take Over Greenland

A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by questioning Denmark's sovereign claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, also claimed military intervention would not be needed to take over the northern landmass because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a legitimate right to the region, which is a one-time colonial possession and continues as a constituent country of the Danish kingdom.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

These remarks follow a period of increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the American leader's repeated interest to annex Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has called an emergency session to discuss the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be gained without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The core issue is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What legal foundation of their ownership claim?” he asked.

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to safeguard the alliance, it is logical that Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even consider or discuss” a military operation in Greenland, reiterating: “Nobody is going to fight the US militarily.”

Global Responses

These statements came after Trump remarked recently, fresh from other foreign policy actions, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the end of the defensive pact and “the postwar security order”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to give up 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, shared a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “SOON”.

Asked about the online image, he responded by stating: “This has represented the official stance of the US government from the beginning of this administration... The president has been explicit 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, important for its ballistic missile early warning system.

In recent years, there has been increasing sentiment for self-rule, particularly after revelations about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people.

However, facing the prospect of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “Greenland belongs to us.”