🔗 Share this article

A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by disputing Denmark's sovereign claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

The president’s deputy chief of staff, also claimed the use of armed force would not be required to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Denmark does not have a legitimate right to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

These remarks follow a period of growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the American leader's repeated interest to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an emergency session to examine the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be gained without armed conflict due to its small population.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The core issue is on what grounds does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” he asked.

Miller continued: “The US is the dominant force in NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even consider or discuss” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

Global Responses

These statements followed Trump remarked recently, following other foreign policy actions, that the US desired the territory “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by warning that an American aggression against a NATO ally would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments were preceded by his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, shared a map on social media of Greenland under a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

When questioned on the social media post, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the start of this presidency... The president has been explicit about that.”

Greenland remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the Danish realm. The US maintains a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been increasing sentiment for Greenlandic independence, especially following disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

However, facing the spectre of acquisition talk, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”