Donald Trump declared that ‘now is the time’ to stop the Russian threat to Greenland and slammed Denmark for failing to protect its territory.
Trump’s latest threat to take Greenland by any means necessary came as the European Union threatened brutal retaliatory tariffs over Trump’s promise to punish nations that don’t support US control of the arctic nation.
‘NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that “you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland,”‘ the president wrote on Truth Social:
‘Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now it is time, and it will be done!!!’
Trump has increasingly voiced the importance of the US acquiring Greenland, especially in the wake of the successful capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
His administrations has warned that Russia or China will move to take over the resource-rich nation if we don’t protect them.
Trump threatened on Friday to impose tariffs ‘on countries that don’t go along with Greenland’ as he escalated his pressure campaign.
Then on Saturday, Britain, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden announced the deployment of small numbers of troops to Greenland in response to Trump’s bellicose rhetoric.
Donald Trump declared that ‘now is the time’ to stop Russian threats to Greenland and slammed Denmark for failing to protect its territory
Trump’s latest salvo to take Greenland by any means necessary came as the European Union threatened brutal retaliatory tariffs over Trump’s promise to punish nations that don’t support US control of the arctic nation, while anti-Trump protests took place in Greenland Saturday
The leaders of those countries warned that Trump’s repeated threats ‘undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.’
The unusually strong joint statement from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland said troops sent to Greenland for operation ‘Arctic Endurance’ pose ‘no threat to anyone.’
Trump appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to US national security.
In response, the EU is set to potentially threaten the US with retaliatory tariffs on $107.7billion in goods, or potentially denying America access to the EU market, The Financial Times reported.
They’re also considering the so far never used ‘Anti-Coercion Instrument’ (ACI), which could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity or restrict trade in services, in which the US has a surplus with the bloc, including in digital services.
The tariff package appeared to command broader support as a first response than anti-coercion measures, where the picture was currently ‘very mixed’, according to an EU source.
On Friday, the Kremlin said that Russia considers Greenland to be Danish territory, and added that the security situation surrounding the island was ‘extraordinary’.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (pictured) met with a bipartisan US Congressional delegation this past week
Even before he returned to office, the 79-year-old Trump has said that US ownership of the island is an ‘absolute necessity’ to protect global ‘national security and freedom’.
‘For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social in December 2024.
The US president has reignited his interest in the past month as Greenland and Denmark’s foreign ministers held talks with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Danish representatives said after that meeting that they are in ‘fundamental disagreement’ with Trump over Greenland.
Russia’s most recent comments on the possible US expansion into Greenland have rejected any interest in competing with Trump’s advances and criticized the president.
In recent months, Europeans have mostly opted for diplomacy and flattery around him, even when seeking an end to the war in Ukraine.
Sunday’s statement from European countries, in addition to some sending troops to Greenland for a Danish military training exercise, appeared to be a step away from that strategy.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to promote investment in rural health care in the East Room of the White House, Friday
On Friday, the Kremlin said that Russia considers Greenland to be Danish territory, and added that the security situation surrounding the island was ‘extraordinary.’
Presidential press secretary and spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: ‘The situation is unusual, I would even say extraordinary from the standpoint of international law,’ as reported by Russian state news outlet Ria Novost
Moscow said this week that its was unacceptable for the West to keep claiming that Russia and China threatened Greenland, and said that the crisis over the territory showed the double standards of Western powers which claimed moral superiority.
Trump is set to appear and hold private talks with European leaders at the at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday and Thursday.
In response to the escalating tensions, gold and silver prices climbed fresh peaks on Monday, as investors flocked to safe-haven assets on intensifying tensions.
Spot gold rose 1.5 percent to $4,663.37 per ounce by 0335 GMT, after scaling an all-time high of $4,689.39.
US gold futures for February delivery jumped 1.6% to $4,669.90 per ounce.
American stock futures and dollar slid as Trump’s latest tariff threats raised investors’ appetite for safe-haven gold, yen and Swiss franc, in a broad risk-averse move across markets.
Senator Chris Coons (pictured center) leads a congressional delegation on a two-day visit to Copenhagen, where the American representatives plan to demonstrate strong bipartisan and bicameral support in Congress for its Danish NATO ally
People attend a protest against US President Donald Trump’s demand that the Arctic island be ceded to the US, calling for it to be allowed to determine its own future
Non-yielding gold thrives in a low-interest-rate environment and during economic uncertainties.
Spot silver advanced 3.3 percent to $92.93 per ounce, after hitting a record high of $94.08.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, visiting his Norwegian counterpart in Oslo, said Denmark would continue to focus on diplomacy, referring to an agreement Denmark, Greenland and the US made on Wednesday to set up a working group.
‘The US is also more than the US president. I’ve just been there. There are also checks and balances in American society,’ he added.
The eight targeted countries, already subject to US tariffs of 10 percent and 15 percent, have sent small numbers of military personnel to Greenland, as a row with the United States over the future of Denmark’s vast Arctic island escalates.
‘Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,’ they said in a joint statement published on Sunday, adding they were ready to engage in dialogue, based on principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written statement she was heartened by the consistent messages from the rest of the continent, adding: ‘Europe will not be blackmailed’.
British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper with Norwegian foreign minister Barth Eide arrive for drills in Norway on Thursday as NATO puts on a brave face amid Trump’s threats
The tariff threat unsettled global markets, with the euro and sterling falling against the dollar and a return to volatility expected.
Trump has also warned the US may pull out of NATO if America’s allies don’t agree to its acquisition of Greenland.
‘Will you pull out of NATO if it doesn’t help you acquire Greenland,’ a reporter asked the president outside the White House on Friday.
Trump warned: ‘We’re going to see. NATO has been dealing with us on Greenland, we need Greenland for national security very badly. If we don’t have it we have a very big hole in terms of national security, especially in terms of the Golden Dome.’
The Golden Dome is a proposed multi-layer missile defense system which the president says is reliant on seizing control of Denmark’s Arctic territory.
Trump has insisted the US should acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO-ally Denmark, stressing that anything less than full control is ‘unacceptable’.
The US military has operated for decades from Thule Air Base in Greenland, which is situated between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
The northern-most US base is part of the military’s global network of radars and other sensors to provide ballistic missile warning and space surveillance.
Conversations have been terse as Danish officials said the Arctic country does not want to become part of America.
His quest has drawn furious backlash from liberals, while even one Republican legislator has warned Trump an invasion of the country could result in his removal from office.
A bipartisan congressional delegation arrived for talks in Copenhagen on Friday, aimed at shoring up support for America’s NATO ally.
The 11 members of Congress were to hold talks with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
‘We are showing bipartisan solidarity with the people of this country and with Greenland. They’ve been our friends and allies for decades,’ Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told reporters.
‘We want them to know we appreciate that very much. And the statements being made by the president do not reflect what the American people feel.’
In addition to Durbin, the US delegation included Democratic senators Chris Coons, Jeanne Shaheen and Peter Welch, as well as Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis.
Democrats from the House of Representatives in the delegation are Madeleine Dean, Steny Hoyer, Sara Jacobs, Sarah McBride and Gregory Meeks.
