President Donald Trump and his advisers are looking into “a range of options” for acquiring Greenland from Denmark, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Tuesday.
Following the Trump administration’s arrest of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, Trump indicated to reporters that the United States could intervene next in such places as Colombia, Cuba, and Greenland. Trump began rekindling his administration’s rhetoric about annexing the Danish-controlled, largely arctic territory in December, citing its strategic location for national security. Leavitt left open the possibility of U.S. military intervention on the island in her statement Tuesday.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region. The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” Leavitt said.
What happened the previous three times the US attempted to acquire Greenland
A day prior, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in a closed briefing that Trump’s goal is to buy Greenland from Denmark, downplaying the idea of military intervention, according to multiple reports.
Trump, who expressed interest in Greenland during his first term, made the possible annexation of the territory a foreign policy focal point during the first several months of his second term. Trump, who had been relatively mum on Greenland over the fall, revived his threats to take over the territory in December, creating a buzz on the topic in recent days.
“I will say this about Greenland — we need Greenland from a national security situation,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. “It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.”
STEPHEN MILLER GOADS PANICKED EUROPEAN ALLIES AND SAYS NO MILITARY WOULD DEFEND GREENLAND
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen released a joint statement with several other European leaders about Greenland on Tuesday morning. Frederiksen and her European allies said that Arctic security must be “collectively” achieved in accordance with the U.N. charter, upholding “sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders.”
“The United States is an essential partner in this endeavour, as a NATO ally and through the defence agreement between the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States of 1951. Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” the European leaders wrote in the statement.
