Late last week, Donald Trump’s crusade to acquire Greenland took an ugly turn as the American president, sounding a bit like an organized crime boss, announced that his administration intended to “do something” on the Arctic island, “whether they like it or not.”
The Republican added, “I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”
A few days later, Greenland’s leader offered a rejoinder of sorts. The New York Times reported:
Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland said on Tuesday that his country would rather remain a part of the Danish Kingdom than join the United States, a day before officials from the three governments are set to meet at the White House.
Nielsen’s position was unambiguous. “If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark,” he said in a joint news conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “We choose NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark and the European Union.”
Speaking from Frederiksen’s office in Copenhagen, Nielsen went on to say, “Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
Soon after, a reporter asked Trump for his reaction to the comment. The Republican said he didn’t know who Greenland’s prime minister is (which hardly seems like something an American president should brag about), before concluding that Nielsen’s comments are “gonna be a big problem for him.”
Evidently, the White House has decided not to bother with a “hearts and minds” approach.
On Wednesday morning, Trump maintained his obsessive focus, publishing an item to his social media platform in which he claimed that Greenland is “vital” to his “Golden Dome” project (he didn’t explain why), before concluding, “NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES. Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, two competing pieces of legislation are pursuing opposite goals. In the Senate, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire have unveiled the “NATO Unity Protection Act,” which would prohibit Trump from trying to take over Greenland.
In the House, meanwhile, Florida Rep. Randy Fine, one of Trump’s more sycophantic Republican allies, has unveiled the “Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act,” which would make Greenland the 51st state.
Both pieces of legislation face long odds, though the former is obviously more serious than the latter.
