One of Donald Trump’s senior advisors has increased tensions on the Danish government by disputing Copenhagen’s claim to the vast Arctic island.
Stephen Miller, also claimed military intervention would not be necessary to take over the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.
“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.
Miller further proposed that Denmark does not have a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.
Miller’s comments come amid growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to acquire Greenland.
The Danish foreign policy committee has called an extraordinary meeting to examine the bilateral ties with the United States.
In his interview, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be achieved without armed conflict due to its small population.
“The real question is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” he asked.
He added: “The US is the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to defend NATO, it is logical that Greenland should be part of the US.”
There was, he said “no requirement to even think or talk about” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “Nobody is going to fight the US over this issue.”
These statements came after Trump remarked recently, following other foreign policy actions, that the US desired the territory “urgently”.
Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by warning that an American aggression against a NATO ally would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement, calling on the US president to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.
Miller’s comments came after his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, posted a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “SOON”.
When questioned on the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the start of this presidency... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”
Greenland remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US maintains a military base there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.
In recent years, there has been increasing sentiment for Greenlandic independence, particularly after disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people.
However, facing the prospect of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”
A geospatial analyst with over a decade of experience in terrain modeling and environmental data visualization.
