🔗 Share this article

A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has increased tensions on Denmark by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to the vast Arctic island.

Military Intervention Dismissed

The president’s deputy chief of staff, stated emphatically military intervention would not be needed to assume control of the northern landmass because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.

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

He also suggested that Denmark does not have a legitimate right to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

These remarks follow a period of increasing friction between the two NATO allies after the American leader's repeated interest to annex Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has convened an extraordinary meeting to examine the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be achieved without armed conflict due to its small population.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The core issue is on what grounds does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” he asked.

He added: “The US is the dominant force in NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to defend NATO, it is logical that Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “Nobody is going to fight the US militarily.”

International Reactions

His comments followed Trump said over the weekend, following other foreign policy actions, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by warning that an American aggression against a NATO ally would mean the collapse of the military alliance and “the postwar security order”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made 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 were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland under a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government since the beginning of this administration... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

Greenland remained a colony until 1953, when it was integrated of the Danish realm. The US maintains a military base there, important for its national missile defense network.

In recent years, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, particularly after disclosures about historical policies of the local population.

But amid the prospect of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”