U.S. lawmakers offer support in Denmark amid Trump threat to ‘own’ Greenland
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — As a bipartisan congressional delegation began a series of whirlwind meetings with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland, the Danes made clear they were not interested in a U.S. takeover of the Arctic island and wanted their leaders to stand their ground.
“I think it’s a very big problem”, Ina Tommerup said as she left the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen. President Donald Trump “doesn’t really care,” she said. “I think he thinks Denmark is really small, which is true, but we also have a lot of alliances.”
His comments came as U.S. lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., landed in the Danish capital to meet with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are also part of the 11-member group, made up mostly of Democrats.
“The signals are clear,” Murkowski said Friday. “I think you will find that Congress does not support the acquisition of Greenland in any way.”
Trump first floated the idea of acquiring Greenland in 2019, during his first term, but in recent weeks has promised to take control of the island “one way or another.” “The White House refused to rule out military action to retake the island from Denmark, alarming allies and shaking the NATO alliance, which has protected the Western world since World War II.
Although the leaders of Denmark and Greenland have rejected any takeover offer by the US government, Trump has shown no signs of backing down.
“I don’t think you’ll find anyone here in Parliament willing to sign a sale of Greenland,” said Rasmus Jarlov, a member of the Folketing, or Danish parliament, and chairman of its defense committee. “That’s something we’re just not going to do.”
In the unlikely event that this changes, Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, a senior fellow at the Danish Institute for International Studies, a Copenhagen-based think tank, said it was “important to emphasize that Denmark does not legally have the option to sell Greenland, because we do not own Greenland.”
Any financial acquisition of Greenland would require congressional authorization, and both Republicans and Democrats have shown little interest in financing such a purchase.
“What I’m hearing from my constituents in Delaware is that they want us to work on health care costs, housing costs, grocery costs, not trying to spend money to buy part of the Danish kingdom, when we already have the right to work closely with them on security or on economic development,” Coons said.
Lawmakers on both sides of the House said they would support legislation to limit Trump’s ability to seize Greenland, as the fight continues over the war powers the Constitution grants Congress. A House bill supporting the annexation of Greenland was also introduced by Republican Randy Fine of Florida.
The congressional visit follows a meeting at the White House on Wednesday between Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Danish officials said after the meeting that they had failed to change the US administration’s position on the Greenland acquisition.
The concern in Denmark remains palpable.
As she walked her dog Yoda in the morning mist, Tina Toulson said she was still extremely worried about what Trump might be capable of, even with Congress’s attempts to obstruct him.
“He’ll do anything,” she said. “I think there are no rules anymore. So I think it’s very terrifying.”
