Following the American abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen released a statement on Sunday demanding that U.S. President Donald Trump stop making threats about taking over Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark.
“It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland. The United States has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Commonwealth,” Frederiksen said, according to Google’s translation service.
“I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have said very clearly that they are not for sale,” she added, in translation.
Frederiksen noted that as a part of the NATO alliance—which the U.S. is also part of—Denmark is covered by the association’s security guarantee, which calls for mutual defense against outside aggression.
The sun sets in Ilulissat, Greenland, in 2025.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s prime minister, said U.S. rhetoric on the subject is “fantasy” after Trump told reporters on Sunday, “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.”
The context of the international condemnation is Trump’s assertion that the U.S. is “going to run” Venezuela after its abduction of Maduro. Close allies of the Trump administration, like podcaster Katie Miller (wife of White House senior aide Stephen Miller), have been agitating for American expansion. Miller posted a doctored image of Greenland superimposed with the U.S. flag, and the caption “soon.”
Trump has constantly brought up the idea of America taking over Greenland, a topic he has pushed since his first term in office.
In addition to being rebuked by Denmark and Greenland on this front, Trump has also been criticized by leaders like Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who said in December, “Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law. These principles are essential not only for the European Union, but for nations around the world.”
That same month, Trump announced that he had appointed Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as the U.S. special envoy to Greenland as part of a plan to take over the region.
Last January, a poll showed that 85% of Greenlanders oppose becoming a part of the United States. Trump’s rhetoric and imperialistic plans have riled a longstanding ally.
