A senior aide to former US president Donald Trump has intensified pressure on Denmark by openly questioning Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland, triggering strong reactions across Europe and renewed debate over the Arctic territory’s future.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, suggested that the United States could take control of Greenland without military force, arguing that no country would confront Washington over the island. He also challenged Denmark’s right to govern Greenland, describing it as a former colony whose continued attachment to Denmark should be reconsidered.
Miller’s comments followed renewed calls by Trump for the US to take over Greenland, remarks that have caused alarm among European leaders. In response, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in firmly defending Greenland’s sovereignty and rejecting any notion of external takeover.
European leaders stressed that Greenland belongs to its people and that decisions about its future rest solely with Denmark and Greenland. They also reaffirmed that Arctic security must be handled collectively through NATO, warning that threats between alliance members undermine post-war security arrangements.
Danish officials described any suggestion of US aggression against Greenland as deeply destabilising, while Greenlandic leaders said the rhetoric was disturbing and had caused anxiety among residents. Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, urged the US to abandon what he called “fantasies of annexation,” insisting that Greenlanders alone will decide their future.
Despite Greenland’s strategic importance to the US, including long-standing military installations, both Danish and Greenlandic authorities made clear that partnership does not equate to submission. The dispute has highlighted growing tensions within Western alliances at a time of heightened global uncertainty.
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