Danish PM Claims Her Country Will 'Defend' Greenland from US After Trump Reiterates Its Strategic Importance
President Donald Trump has reshaped an international order that lasted for 80 years.
Since the end of World War II, Europeans have relied on the United States for security. Now, those same Europeans have openly contemplated conflict with their longtime patron across the Atlantic.
According to The Hill, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday that her country stands “ready to defend” Greenland.
“We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory,” Frederiksen said ahead of the NATO Summit in Turkey.
“One of the reasons why we have built NATO many, many years ago, is if anything happens to one of us, then everybody should stand up for each other,” she later added.
Ironically, Trump has spent years trying to get Europeans to shoulder their share of the NATO defense burden. That effort, according to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, has borne fruit.
Now, it seems that the president might go further and — by design or otherwise — trigger Europe’s re-militarization.
Frederiksen’s reliance on NATO to defend Greenland — long a Danish or Danish-aligned territory — against the United States also has ironic elements given that the alliance, formed in 1949 as a bulwark against an expansionist Soviet Union, has relied overwhelmingly on American money and armed forces.
Trump, of course, has long insisted that the United States should control Greenland.
Indeed, the president raised the issue shortly after winning the 2024 election. It has resurfaced at various times during his second administration.
On Tuesday in Turkey, Trump again insisted that Greenland “should be controlled by the United States,” per CNBC.
“Because Greenland doesn’t help Denmark. Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, but it’s an important part for the United States,” the president told reporters.
“And it’s surrounded by China ships and Russian ships, and that’s not going to happen, the ships, is, it’s not going to happen.”
Later, Trump issued various warnings, including the prospect that U.S. troops could withdraw from the continent.
“We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe,” he said.
“Because as you probably noticed, Europe’s a very different place than it was 20 years ago. And they better be careful with immigration and energy. If they’re not careful with those two things, you’re not going to have a Europe anymore.”
As unfathomable as it once seemed, America’s break with Europe appears closer than it has in nearly a century.
For instance, earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly broached the idea of a “shooting war” with the U.S.
“We are drawing a line here,” Macron reportedly said to a group of nearly 30 European leaders gathered in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss what to do in the wake of Trump’s successful capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, which corresponded with renewed threats against Greenland.
NATO members also showed reluctance to aid Trump in his war against Iran.
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