Trump brushes aside NATO concerns and says Greenland should make deal

President Donald Trump said that NATO needs the US ‘more than we need them’ on Sunday night while urging Greenland to cave to his demands before being conquered by China or Russia.   

Trump brushed aside warnings from allies and doubled down on his demand for control of Greenland, saying that he does not care if acquiring the Arctic territory upsets NATO.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington, Trump was asked whether taking Greenland could damage relations with the alliance.

‘If it affects NATO, then it affects NATO,’ Trump said. ‘But, you know, they need us much more than we need them, I will tell you that right now.’

Pressed on whether he had made a formal offer to Greenland or Denmark, Trump said he had not, yet – before launching into a stark assessment of the island’s security.

‘Greenland should make the deal because Greenland does not want to see Russia or China take over,’ Trump said. 

‘Greenland, basically their defense is two dogsleds,’ he continued. ‘In the meantime, you have Russian destroyers all over the place.’

In a separate exchange with reporters on board, Trump made clear he sees US control of Greenland as inevitable.

‘If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will. And I’m not going to let that happen… One way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland,’ he said.

When a reporter followed up asking if it is ‘Okay if that compromises NATO?’, Trump acknowledged the blowback could be real, but suggested the alliance itself might be expendable.

‘Maybe NATO would be upset if I did it… we’d save a lot of money. I like NATO. I just wonder whether or not if needed NATO would they be there for us? I’m not sure they would,’ Trump said.

In reality, NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause, treating an attack on one member as an attack on all, has been invoked only once, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, when allies joined Washington in Afghanistan. 

The remarks reignited a diplomatic crisis that has been simmering since Trump renewed his push to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark with enormous strategic value in the Arctic. 

Trump has said he wants control of the island because of its location, its mineral resources, and rising Russian and Chinese military activity in the region – and has not ruled out the use of force.

Trump has argued that striking a deal would be ‘easier,’ but has also warned that ‘if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way’.

On Sunday night, he again insisted that US acquisition of Greenland is a national security necessity.

Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, is defended by Denmark, whose military is far smaller than that of the United States. 

The US already operates a military base on the island. Danish officials have warned that any attempt to seize Greenland would threaten NATO itself.

Trump dismissed that argument, portraying himself as a defender rather than a threat to the alliance, citing his pressure on member states to increase defense spending.

Tensions between Washington and Copenhagen have intensified in recent days. 

Denmark’s ambassador to the US, Jesper Møller Sørensen, publicly pushed back after the newly tapped US envoy for Greenland suggested the United States had defended the island during World War II when Denmark could not. 

Sørensen responded that Denmark has consistently stood alongside the US, including after 9/11, and stressed that only Greenlanders should decide their future.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned on Sunday that her country faces a ‘decisive moment’ in its standoff with Washington.

‘There is a conflict over Greenland,’ Frederiksen said during a debate with other Danish political leaders, adding that the stakes extend far beyond the island itself.

In a Facebook post, Frederiksen said Denmark is prepared to defend its principles.

‘We are ready to defend our values – wherever it is necessary – also in the Arctic. We believe in international law and in peoples’ right to self-determination,’ she wrote.

European allies have begun to line up behind Denmark. Germany and Sweden both voiced support for Copenhagen, condemning what Sweden’s prime minister called ‘threatening rhetoric’.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said a US takeover of Greenland would violate international law and risk encouraging other nations to do the same. 

‘Sweden, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, and several major European countries stand together with our Danish friends,’ he said at a defense conference attended by NATO’s top US commander.

Germany reiterated that Greenland’s future must be decided by its people and Denmark, even as it acknowledged growing security concerns in the Arctic. 

German officials said they are ready to assume greater responsibilities within NATO as the region’s strategic importance grows.

Polls indicate that Greenland’s population overwhelmingly opposes a US takeover, even as the island continues to debate its long-term relationship with Denmark.