US Vice President JD Vance on a recent visit to the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. This important center is at the forefront of our nation’s missile warning, space surveillance and satellite command and control missions. This visit comes at a time of heightened tensions surrounding Greenland, particularly following former President Donald Trump‘s provocative statements regarding the territory’s status and its implications for US national security.
In any event, the Trump administration is adamant that we must own Greenland. They think it’s a critical move to bolster against Chinese and Russian threats in the Arctic. This incendiary rhetoric has only further chilled already frozen diplomatic relationships. Ensuring that agreements between the US and European countries are approved has therefore grown more challenging. A 1951 treaty provides for shared US-Danish defense facilities on Greenland. The one aspect of defense Trump’s made ownership a hill to die on has spooked our European allies.
The United Kingdom, Germany, France, and five other European nations (in total, eight) have formally banded together to condemn Trump’s tariff threats. These tariffs could undermine ongoing trade discussions between the US and the European Union, putting a potential deal at risk. The European Parliament is preparing to vote on ratifying this problematic trade deal. Few expect the deal to survive given the increasing hostility.
Emmanuel Macron’s reaction to the turn of events was understandably blunt. He called the tariff threats “unacceptable,” and reiterated that Europe would not be cowed by this extortion. He stated, “No intimidation or threat will influence us – neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations.” The remarkable cohesion among European nations does seem to be hardening into a wall against Trump’s bullying bluster.
Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s Prime Minister, voiced her dissent against imposing tariffs on nations contributing to Greenland’s security. She made her displeasure with those actions very clear. As the FT explains, this statement reflects a growing frustration among European leaders at the prospect of US economic retaliation.
Amid concerns over military actions, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that any aggressive stance by the US toward Greenland could damage NATO’s integrity. Well, Manfred Weber would agree with this last point. He told us that as Trump continued to be aggressive and provocative, it was just not feasible to sign any of these deals.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, defended the administration’s position by stating, “We live in a world, in the real world… that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power.” He further argued that for the US to secure its interests in the Arctic and protect NATO allies, “Greenland should be part of the United States.”
Public mood in Greenland has soured on the idea of annexation, too. More than a quarter of Nuuk’s population turned out for demonstrations opposing any suggestion of US ownership. The local community showed fierce resistance to Trump’s unfounded allegations of widespread fraud and underscored their wish to determine their own fate.
