Denmark Tells Trump to ‘Stop the Threats’ About Greenland

Denmark’s prime minister urged President Donald Trump to “stop the threats” to take over Greenland after Trump reiterated his interest in controlling the semiautonomous territory of Denmark, following the U.S. military raid on Venezuela.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark said Sunday that the United States had “no right to annex” Greenland, an island in the North Atlantic. “I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally,” she said in a statement, adding that Greenlanders “have said very clearly that they are not for sale.”

Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland also rejected Trump’s comments, writing on social media that the president’s rhetoric was “utterly unacceptable” and that connecting Venezuela with Greenland was “wrong” and “disrespectful.”

The two leaders were addressing comments Trump made to The Atlantic magazine just hours after the military raid in Venezuela, in which he repeated his desire to control Greenland and claimed that the island was “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.”

Hours later, after the leaders of Greenland and Denmark responded to his comments, Trump doubled down.

“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, adding that he thought Denmark was not doing enough to safeguard the territory.

Frederiksen’s statement noted that Denmark was a member of NATO and that a defense agreement with the United States already gave Washington “wide access to Greenland.”

The statements from the leaders of Denmark and Greenland also followed a separate American provocation: a post on social media from Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s top advisers. “SOON,” she wrote, with a map of Greenland shaded in by the American flag.

Jesper Moller Sorensen, Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, responded with a “friendly reminder” that Denmark expected “full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.”

Several of Denmark’s European neighbors, as well as the European Union, have repeated their long-standing support following the rhetorical exchanges between Trump and the leaders of Denmark and Greenland.

“We would recall that Greenland is an ally to the U.S. and is also covered by the NATO alliance, and that is a big, big difference” from the situation in Venezuela, Paula Pinho, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said at a news conference Monday.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain told reporters that he agreed with Frederiksen. “Denmark is a close European ally, a close NATO ally,” he said, and it was up to its leaders and those of Greenland to determine the island’s future.

“No one decides for Greenland and Denmark but Greenland and Denmark themselves,” President Alexander Stubb of Finland wrote on social media.

Trump’s comments were the latest in a series of actions that have unsettled the leaders of Denmark and Greenland in recent months.

Last month, he outraged officials by appointing a special envoy to the island. It was believed to be the first time that the United States had done so, and it was seen as part of his efforts to acquire the territory. Also last month, Denmark’s military intelligence warned about the United States for the first time in its annual threat assessment, saying that shifts in U.S. policy were generating new uncertainties for Danish security.

The Danish government has also expressed anger over reports that the United States was spying on Greenland and running a covert influence campaign there.

Trump’s designs on Greenland have become more alarming for Denmark since the U.S. raid in Venezuela on Saturday, even though few Danes expect an imminent invasion, said Mikkel Runge Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies.

“It has gained a lot of traction in Denmark, and it has generated a lot of worry,” he said.

The raid in Venezuela “shows the U.S. willingness to use force,” Olesen added, but he cautioned that comparing the two situations was “a bit of a leap.” U.S.-Venezuelan relations have been “horrible for decades,” he said. “It’s a completely different ballgame to go and invade a NATO ally.”