🔗 Share this article

A key figure from Donald Trump's top aides has ramped up the pressure on Denmark by questioning Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically military intervention would not be necessary to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.

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

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Danish kingdom.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

Miller’s comments follow a period of increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has convened an extraordinary meeting to examine the bilateral ties with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that dominion of the island could be gained without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What legal foundation of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

He added: “As the leading power within the dominant force in NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no need to even consider or discuss” a military operation in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

His comments came after Trump said over the weekend, following other foreign policy actions, that the US desired the territory “urgently”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a strong statement, calling on the US president to abandon his “notions of acquisition” and labeled American rhetoric of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

Miller’s comments came after his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland under a US flag with the tag “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

When questioned on the social media post, he responded by stating: “It has been the formal position of the US government since the start of this presidency... Donald Trump has been explicit about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it became part of the Danish realm. The US maintains a military base there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been increasing sentiment for self-rule, particularly after disclosures about historical policies of Greenlandic people.

However, facing the prospect of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”